"The time, it would seem, is drawing near for Vatican watchers to study the sky for a plume of white smoke. Here's a timely reference for those handicapping the race for the next pope--and contemplating the future of Catholicism....Pham, a former Vatican diplomat, knows the ground of his inquiry well...[His] study may well be the last word--for now--on the arcane and controversial ways popes have been selected in the past....Of broader interest, however, is his reckoning of the challenges the next pope will face, especially since talk of such conditional matters is very nearly taboo in Vatican circles...an invaluable reference."
--Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW

"Such complex history often necessitates leaping back and forth in time, and Pham makes high drama of particular moments with clarity and frankness... highly recommended."
--Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

"Pham, a writer and former Vatican diplomat and aide, presents an insider's view of the coming election buttressed by a thorough history and thoughtful analysis of the picking of popes.... Pham's work is notable for its detail.... Pham's exhaustive approach and informed view will appeal to anyone interested in more than a cursory treatment of this fascinating subject."
--Publishers Weekly

"Pham's long and detailed account of the historical intricacies of one pope succeeding another, going back two millennia, makes clear what a profoundly human institution the papacy is.... It also makes clear that the remarkable continuity of Roman Catholicism, ultimately uncorrupted even by its own corruptions, is rooted in what must be reckoned as the papacy's own adaptive genius....a lucid and useful book."
--Washington Post Book World, cover review