The Conclave: A Sometimes Secret and Occasionally Bloody History of Papal Elections

For a broad historical perspective on the process, there's Michael Walsh's The Conclave: A Sometimes Secret and Occasionally Bloody History of Papal Elections. The first real papal conclave, he asserts, happened in 1271, when the pontificate had been vacant for nearly three years. A local captain locked a group of cardinals into a palace and refused to let them out until they had chosen a new pope. Food was withheld from them. Some things have certainly changed since then, but much about this secret process dates back to that turbulent time. Readers will be fascinated by this historical journey through conclaves of the past.