More revealing, however, was the more awkward and equivocal reaction of newspapers closer to the centre, reflecting the reluctance of many commentators and interest groups to incur Mr Berlusconi's wrath, in the expectation that he will win.

ECONOMIST: Unfit to write about Italy?

The former professor of physics, Steven Jones, believes the spheres he has found in the dust from the World Trade Centre site match the spheres you get in a thermite reaction.

BBC: Q&A: The collapse of Tower 7

To test out reaction, I take a copy of the book to an ultra-Orthodox Jewish study centre, where I meet a 22-year-old man in signature black hat and beard.

BBC: The sex manual for ultra-Orthodox Jews