This 2003 book gives a succinct account of the selection of every Pope, with particular attention to the elections since 1059, when the election of the Pope was entrusted exclusively to the Cardinals..Only in 1417 were some non-cardinals permitted to help elect the Pope.
I had done a book report on Pope John XXIII in 4th Grade and had followed the Elections of both John Paul I and II and Benedict XVI. It seemed a lot less disfunctional than the elections of American Presidents.
The book contains exactly what the description says it does: The history of Papal Elections devoid of the politics of the individual resulting Popes.Very good for my daughter's report on the Convocation!.
Those interested in Catholic Church history will be well served by this book, which reviews in as much detail as available the elections of the 263 Supreme Pontiffs. While much of the activity of the conclaves has been secret, Baumgartner has found many sources of participants who couldn't resist telling someone of what went on, so there are at least descriptions of the rise and fall in the polling for major contenders who didn't get to mount the papal throne for quite a few of the papal elections.
