“A Spy Among Friends” by Ben Macintyre – A Crimson Betrayal
Upon even a superficial review, the life of a real-world spy is rather different than what is presented in most works of literature, being centered mostly on acquiring information through any means necessary, with persuasion and manipulation being the favorite ones.
History has given place to a large number of great spies, that much is certain, but it can be argued that none have had as tremendous of an impact as Kim Philby, and in A Spy Among Friends, Ben Macintyre endeavors to tell us his story from A to Z.
Basically, Kim Philby was heralded as a brilliant and charming man, one who certainly deserved to be the head of the British Counterintelligence division against the USSR. In addition to that, he had a very close friendship with Nicholas Elliot, a fellow MI6 officer, as well as James Jesus Angleton, the ex-head of CIA counterintelligence.
Perhaps none could claim to know Philby better than Nicholas Elliot, a man alongside whom the former spent much of his time growing, going to the same schools and sharing the same hardships. Even so, despite being his oldest friend, Elliot still didn't manage to see through the ruse Philby was pulling: working for the Soviet Union the entire time.
For years upon years every single world and piece of information he received was transmitted back to the USSR, something that disrupted countless British as well as American intelligence operation, leading many operatives to treacherous demises.
It wasn't until it was too late that people finally wised up and saw Philby for who he was; at that point, incredible amounts of damage had been done, and entire organizations were crippled.
Indeed, the Cold War has most certainly given way to some of the most interesting stories of the past century, with subversion and deception being the name of the game. The author strikes a formidable balance between treating Philby's extraordinary life as a story and maintaining a factual tone that doesn't deviate too much into his imagination.
The mountains of information found in this book come from personal papers as well as declassified British intelligence files, giving the author plenty of material to go above and beyond the surface, offering at times a psychological analysis of the events, giving us a new and interesting perspective on all that took place.
In other words, this is a book that reads like a very realistic spy thriller, one in which the main character pulls one of the biggest cons in human history.
As you can imagine, if you are looking for a place to learn about Philby without too much bias against one side or the other, this is going to be one of your best bets.
Macintyre doesn't simply recount to us the many facts that are already known about his life and the work he did, but he tries to present as complete of a picture of the man as possible, showing that in the end, as extraordinary as his actions may have been, he was still a human being subjected to the forces we all are.
Speaking in terms of facts, this is a very complete work that ought to satisfy the history buffs out there.
It is definitely a book you ought to read if you are into Cold War espionage or are looking to learn as much as possible about Kim Philby as a person and as a spy.
 | Ben MacintyrePersonal site Ben Macintyre is a British author, columnist and historian who is currently also a writer for The Times newspaper. He touches on all topics from current affairs in the world of politics to controversies in our history, and he is the author of numerous novels, including The Napoleon of Crime and The Man Who Would be King. |
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