A spy among friends : Kim Philby and the great betrayal

Master storyteller Ben Macintyre’s most ambitious work to date brings to life the twentieth century’s greatest spy story. Kim Philby was the most notorious British defector and Soviet mole in history. "Hugely engrossing... Both authoritative and enthralling." - William BoydKim Philby was the greatest spy in history, a brilliant and charming man who rose to head Britain’s counterintelligence against the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War — while he was secretly working for the enemy. And nobody thought he knew Philby like Nicholas Elliott, Philby’s best friend and fellow officer in MI6. The two men had gone to the same schools, belonged to the same exclusive clubs, and grown close through the crucible of wartime intelligence work and long nights of drink and revelry. It was madness for one to think the other might be a communist spy, bent on subverting Western values and the power of the free world."A tale of espionage, alcoholism, bad manners and the chivalrous code of spies—the real world of James Bond, that is, as played out by clerks and not superheroes... Gripping and as well-crafted as an episode of Smiley’s People, full of cynical inevitability, secrets, lashings of whiskey and corpses." - Kirkus ReviewsTold with heart-pounding suspense and keen psychological insight, and based on personal papers and never-before-seen British intelligence files, A Spy Among Friends is Ben Macintyre’s best book yet, a high-water mark in Cold War history telling. **NOW A MAJOR SIX-PART SERIES ON ITVX, STARRING DAMIAN LEWIS AND GUY PEARCE** A SUNDAY TIMES No. 1 BESTSELLER WITH AN AFTERWORD BY JOHN LE CARR É 'Riveting, astounding ... An unputdownable postwar thriller' Observer 'Irresistibly readable' Sunday Times 'Worthy of John le Carr é at his best' Guardian 'Hugely engrossing ... Both authoritative and enthralling' William Boyd ________________ Kim Philby was the most notorious British defector and Soviet mole in history. Agent, double agent, charmer and traitor, he betrayed every secret of Allied operations to the Russians in the early years of the Cold War. In the aftermath of the Second World War, Philby, Nicholas Elliott and James Jesus Angleton were rising stars in the intelligence world and shared every secret. Elliott and Angleton thought they knew Philby better than anyone - and then discovered they had not known him at all. This is a story of loyalty, trust and treachery, class and conscience, of male friendships forged, and then systematically betrayed. With access to newly released MI5 files and previously unseen papers, A Spy Among Friends unlocks what is perhaps the last great secret of the Cold War. Kim Philby was the greatest spy in history, a brilliant and charming man who rose to head Britain's counterintelligence against the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War--while he was secretly working for the enemy. And nobody thought he knew Philby like Nicholas Elliott, Philby's best friend and fellow officer in MI6. The two men had gone to the same schools, belonged to the same exclusive clubs, grown close through the crucible of wartime intelligence work and long nights of drink and revelry. But Philby was secretly betraying his friend. Every word Elliott breathed to Philby was transmitted back to Moscow--and not just Elliott's words, for in America, Philby had made another powerful friend: James Jesus Angleton, the crafty, paranoid head of CIA counterintelligence. Angleton's and Elliott's unwitting disclosures helped Philby sink almost every important Anglo-American spy operation for twenty years, leading countless operatives to their doom. Even as the web of suspicion closed around him, and Philby was driven to greater lies to protect his cover, his two friends never abandoned him--until it was too late. --Publisher description This Is A Story Of Intimate Duplicity; Of Loyalty, Trust And Treachery, Class And Conscience; Of An Ideological Battle Waged By Men With Cut-glass Accents And Well-made Suits In The Comfortable Clubs And Restaurants Of London And Washington; Of Male Friendships Forged, And Then Systematically Betrayed. With Access To Newly Released Mi5 Files And Previously Unseen Family Papers, And With The Cooperation Of Former Officers Of Mi6 And The Cia, This Definitive Biography Unlocks What Is Perhaps The Last Great Secret Of The Cold War.--publisher's Description. Machine Generated Contents Note: 1.apprentice Spy -- 2.section V -- 3.otto And Sonny -- 4.boo, Boo, Baby, I'm A Spy -- 5.three Young Spies -- 6.the German Defector -- 7.the Soviet Defector -- 8.rising Stars -- 9.stormy Seas -- 10.homer's Odyssey -- 11.peach -- 12.the Robber Barons -- 13.the Third Man -- 14.our Man In Beirut -- 15.the Fox Who Came To Stay -- 16.a Most Promising Officer -- 17.i Thought It Would Be You -- 18.teatime -- 19.the Fade -- 20.three Old Spies. Ben Macintyre. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 333-337) And Index. Kim Philby was the most notorious British defector and Soviet mole in history. Agent, double agent, traitor and enigma, he betrayed every secret of Allied operations to the Russians in the early years of the Cold War. Philby's two closest friends in the intelligence world, Nicholas Elliott of MI6 and James Jesus Angleton, the CIA intelligence chief, thought they knew Philby better than anyone, and then discovered they had not known him at all. This is a story of intimate duplicity; of loyalty, trust and treachery, class and conscience; of an ideological battle waged by men with cut-glass accents and well-made suits in the comfortable clubs and restaurants of London and Washington; of male friendships forged, and then systematically betrayed. With access to newly released MI5 files and previously unseen family papers, and with the cooperation of former officers of MI6 and the CIA, this definitive biography unlocks what is perhaps the last great secret of the Cold War. Kim Philby was the most notorious British defector and Soviet mole in history. Agent, double agent, traitor and enigma, he betrayed every secret of Allied operations to the Russians in the early years of the Cold War. Philbyѫs two closest friends in the intelligence world, Nicholas Elliott of MI6 and James Jesus Angleton, the CIA intelligence chief, thought they knew Philby better than anyone, and then discovered they had not known him at all. This is a story of intimate duplicity; of loyalty, trust and treachery, class and conscience; of an ideological battle waged by men with cut-glass accents and well-made suits in the comfortable clubs and restaurants of London and Washington; of male friendships forged, and then systematically betrayed. With access to newly released MI5 files and previously unseen family papers, and with the cooperation of former officers of MI6 and the CIA, this definitive biography unlocks what is perhaps the last great secret of the Cold War "Kim Philby was the greatest spy in history, a brilliant and charming man who rose to head Britain's counterintelligence against the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War--while he was secretly working for the enemy. Nobody thought he knew Philby like Nicholas Elliott, Philby's best friend and fellow officer in MI6, but Philby was secretly betraying his friend: every word Elliott breathed to Philby was transmitted back to Moscow, sinking almost every important Anglo-American spy operation for twenty years and costing hundreds of lives. Even as the web of suspicion closed around Philby, his friend Elliott never abandoned him--until it was too late. Told with heart-pounding suspense and keen psychological insight, A Spy Among Friends is a fascinating portrait of a Cold War spy and the countrymen who remained willfully blind to his treachery."--Provided by publisher. Kim Philby was the greatest spy in history, a brilliant and charming man who rose to head Britain's counterintelligence against the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War, while he was secretly working for the enemy. Nobody thought he knew Philby like Nicholas Elliott, Philby's best friend and fellow officer in MI6. But Philby was secretly betraying his friend. Every word Elliott breathed to Philby was transmitted back to Moscow, along with those of James Jesus Angleton, head of the CIA.