When, after 40 years on the run, Bernardo Provenzano was captured in Sicily the day after Silvio Berlusconi lost the 2006 Italian general election, the worldwide media had a field day. 'The Last Godfather' was the general theme of the reportage, but the reality behind the headlines was more pervasive and chilling.

Remarkable though it may now seem, the Mafia actually started as an alternative form of local government in the Sicilian countryside in the nineteenth century and was arguably a force for 'good'. But this first incarnation was crushed by Mussolini, and its post-war successor took the form that has been immortalised in films such as The Godfather.

In Mafia: Inside the Dark Heart, A.G.D. Maran examines these eras then addresses the 'third' Mafia and the allegations of Berlusconi's connections to the underworld. Along the way he asks many provocative questions.

A refreshing new take on a perenially enthralling subject.