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Alexandru's Reviews > A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal
A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal
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A Spy Among Friends is as much about Kim Philby as it is about Nicholas Elliott, these two British spies and friends who ended up on different sides of the Cold War ideological struggle. The book literally starts with the upbringing and youth of Nicholas Elliott and there is actually a lot more detail in Elliot's backstory than there is in Kim Philby's. Philby is introduced when Elliot loses his best friend at the beginning of World War II and their 20 year friendship begins.
Macintyre is a great storyteller and he masterfully weaves between the lives of Philby and Elliot. The damage that the naïve Communist Philby did to the British secret services is unbelievable. But what is more unbelievable is how after he started being suspected as a Soviet agent there were still lots of people such as Elliot and others that stood by him. The book really highlights the 'old boy' mentality of the British establishment. Due to their hubris they refused to believe that someone from their inside group would ever betray them. The rivalry between MI5 and MI6 is also another layer to this betrayal.
Philby's upbringing is a story in itself and there was probably too little time spent on it. He was the son of a British legend, St John Philby (later known as Sheikh Abdullah) who served as an advisor to King Abdulaziz ibn Saud, the founder of Saudi Arabia. Just like many students of his generation, Philby became a Communist sympathiser at university. But unlike others he remained a convinced and dedicated Communist his whole life.
The spy stories detailed in the book focus on many of the operations handled and betrayed by Philby such as the German anti-Nazi Catholic resistance, the Albanian resistance, the Georgian resistance or Soviet defection attempts which led to the deaths of hundreds of people.
I just wish there was more details of Philby's relations and interactions with the other members of the Cambridge Five spy ring. Probably the most interesting part is the discussion about Philby's escape to the Soviet Union and whether Elliot allowed him to leave.
The ending of the book is really good because it shows the end of the lives of all of the main players including of course Philby and Elliot but also some of the other British and American agents involved.
I really enjoyed John le Carre's closing section and his interview with Nicholas Elliott. Elliot's Britishness and attitude is unbelievably stereotypical and ridiculous. It's so interesting that le Carre actually personally met both Elliot and Philby. I am actually going to start reading a few of le Carre's spy novels as he based them on these real spy stories.
Macintyre is a great storyteller and he masterfully weaves between the lives of Philby and Elliot. The damage that the naïve Communist Philby did to the British secret services is unbelievable. But what is more unbelievable is how after he started being suspected as a Soviet agent there were still lots of people such as Elliot and others that stood by him. The book really highlights the 'old boy' mentality of the British establishment. Due to their hubris they refused to believe that someone from their inside group would ever betray them. The rivalry between MI5 and MI6 is also another layer to this betrayal.
Philby's upbringing is a story in itself and there was probably too little time spent on it. He was the son of a British legend, St John Philby (later known as Sheikh Abdullah) who served as an advisor to King Abdulaziz ibn Saud, the founder of Saudi Arabia. Just like many students of his generation, Philby became a Communist sympathiser at university. But unlike others he remained a convinced and dedicated Communist his whole life.
The spy stories detailed in the book focus on many of the operations handled and betrayed by Philby such as the German anti-Nazi Catholic resistance, the Albanian resistance, the Georgian resistance or Soviet defection attempts which led to the deaths of hundreds of people.
I just wish there was more details of Philby's relations and interactions with the other members of the Cambridge Five spy ring. Probably the most interesting part is the discussion about Philby's escape to the Soviet Union and whether Elliot allowed him to leave.
The ending of the book is really good because it shows the end of the lives of all of the main players including of course Philby and Elliot but also some of the other British and American agents involved.
I really enjoyed John le Carre's closing section and his interview with Nicholas Elliott. Elliot's Britishness and attitude is unbelievably stereotypical and ridiculous. It's so interesting that le Carre actually personally met both Elliot and Philby. I am actually going to start reading a few of le Carre's spy novels as he based them on these real spy stories.
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