The revealing New York Times bestseller examines the reign of Pope Benedict, the papal conclave process, and the history of one of the world"s oldest and most mysterious institutions. For more than twenty-five years John Thavis held one of the most fascinating journalistic jobs in the world: reporting on the inner workings of the Vatican. His daily exposure to the power, politics, and personalities in the seat of Roman Catholicism gave him a unique, behind-the-scenes perspective on an institution that is far less monolithic and unified than it first appears. Thavis reveals Vatican City as a place where Curia cardinals fight private wars, scandals threaten to undermine papal authority, and reverence for the past is continually upended by the practical considerations of modern life. Thavis takes readers from a bell tower high above St. Peter"s to the depths of the basilica and the saint"s burial place, from the politicking surrounding the election of a new pope and the...