This is a nice history of a Cold War catastrophe. Philby was a Soviet spy and a top official in MI6, England's Secret Intelligence Service. He duped them and the CIA for 20 years. The book is a little more history than I was expecting. I was hoping for some description of MI6 tradecraft, which this book doesn't really provide. But if you like spy novels and are interested in the intelligence field, this book serves as useful background. Recommended.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

so uh, time for the tv show-

It would be difficult to make the story of Harold "Kim" Philby and the Cambridge 5 spy ring boring. As I started this book, I was afraid the author was somehow pulling that off. It's a slow starter, and unlike previous Macintyre books I've read (Operation Mincemeat, Agent Zigzag, The Englishman's Daughter), this one didn't have much fun or lighthearted material.

Philby's betrayal of his family, his country, and his friends is still hard to understand. Macintyre does as good a job as anyone at trying to unravel the tangled web woven by this one difficult, yet apparently charming, man.

This is not new material, but Macintyre has a deft hand for these types of stories. And with some items still classified, one suspects there will continue to be books published about Philby for some time to come.

Recommended for: history buffs, anyone who has seen "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"

I received a copy of this book for review from Blogging for Books, opinions are my own.

Historical but reads like nonfiction, so good

Unique perspective on an interesting life. Macintyre explores Kim Philby's life as a double agent for the USSR through his friendships with colleagues in MI6. The book is fascinating in that it offers no definitive answers as to why Philby betrayed his country or how he was able to divide himself between his inner life as a Soviet operative and his outer life as an MI6 agent. The book is obviously well researched with great sources and interviews of people who thought they knew Philby best. If you're willing to wade through the alphabet soup of intelligence agencies and operations, it's worth the read.

An interesting and well told story. I was very much hoping for a more explosive climax when Kim was exposed but I soppose there isn't much you can do if it really wasn't that explosive.

One of the things that caught my attention was the feelings of Ben Macintyre towards all of these characters. He certainly seems to hold Kim's skill for decption in high regard but at the same time is nothing short of scathing when analyzing his motives. And although he appears to have a certain respect for Nick Elliot he also passes clear judgement on the boys club sentiment that Nick Elliot so romanicized and embodied.

The afterward added a lot to the story, giving a clearer picture of Nick's (or at least one of his) sides of the story, if as many seem to agree, he has several. It must have been a fascinating and challenging subject to investigate with so much information being hearsay, hidden, or biased even when it was coming first hand.

Overall would recommend.