Silvio Berlusconi controls a vast business empire spanning TV, football and finance. He has also faced accusations of perjury, bribing judges and false accounting - and has even changed the law to protect himself. This is the astonishing inside story of his life in full, from the man who sparked a furore as the first journalist to publicly question his fitness for government. Drawing on exclusive interviews and little-known documents, David Lane traces how a charismatic, ambitious young man rose to success as a property developer and media baron; investigates his shadowy business associates and offshore companies; uncovers his extreme right-wing contacts and lingering sympathy for the high days of Italian fascism - and reveals how he uses his power to silence all opposition.