To his fans, Silvio Berlusconi is a natural leader; to his enemies, a convicted criminal. Inspired by David Frost’s historic interviews with Richard Nixon, Alan Friedman set out to uncover the real Berlusconi. With his subject’s cooperation and access to family, friends and business partners, he describes Berlusconi’s childhood in a rough neighbourhood in wartime Milan, the growth of his media empire and his rise to political power, alongside financial scandals and notorious sex parties.