A Spy Among Friends

Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal

By: Ben Macintyre

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 11 hrs

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The epic true story of Kim Philby, the Cold War’s most infamous spy, from the “master storyteller” (San Francisco Chronicle) and author of Prisoners of the Castle.

Now an MGM+ series starring Damian Lewis, Guy Pearce, and Anna Maxwell Martin

“[A Spy Among Friends] reads like a story by Graham Greene, Ian Fleming, or John le Carré, leavened with a dollop of P. G. Wodehouse.”—Walter Isaacson, New York Times Book Review

Who was Kim Philby? Those closest to him—like his fellow MI6 officer and best friend since childhood, Nicholas Elliot, and the CIA’s head of counterintelligence, James Jesus Angleton—knew him as a loyal confidant and an unshakeable patriot. Philby was a brilliant and charming man who rose to head Britain’s counterintelligence against the Soviet Union. Together with Elliott and Angleton he stood on the front lines of the Cold War, holding Communism at bay. But he was secretly betraying them both: He was working for the Russians the entire time.

Every word uttered in confidence to Philby made its way to Moscow, sinking almost every important Anglo-American spy operation for twenty years and costing hundreds of lives. So how was this cunning double-agent finally exposed? In A Spy Among Friends, Ben Macintyre expertly weaves the heart-pounding tale of how Philby almost got away with it all—and what happened when he was finally unmasked.

Based on personal papers and never-before-seen British intelligence files and 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.

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, Shelf Awareness

©2014 Ben Macintyre (P)2014 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Macintyre has produced more than just a spy story. He has written a narrative about that most complex of topics, friendship. . . . When devouring this thriller, I had to keep reminding myself it was not a novel. . . . [Macintyre] takes a fresh look at the grandest espionage drama of our era.”—Walter Isaacson, The New York Times Book Review

“A Spy Among Friends is the latest in Ben Macintyre’s series on twentieth-century espionage. All are superb, and A Spy Among Friends is no exception. Macintyre gives the familiar story of Philby new life.”—Malcolm Gladwell,The New Yorker

“Macintyre does here what he does best—tell a heck of a good story. A Spy Among Friends is hands down the most entertaining book I’ve reviewed this year.”—Boston Globe

Interesting look at an "enabling infrastructure"

The book unravels the fascinating tale of THE most destructive Soviet spy of the entire Cold War. As it does, it exposes the train wreck that was the informal network of "the right kind of people," who enabled Kim Philby to wreak so much havoc over a very long period of time.

"Oh, don't be silly, not good old Philby! I just talked with him at the club last evening!"

Yeah ... that kind of thing. The willful ignorance of some of his peers, as well as a very strange system of rewarding him as an effective British intelligence officer when, objectively, NOTHING he was involved with flourished or succeeded...was mind boggling. I enjoyed this book, but it made me very sad to think that the Cold War could have been much shorter and thousands less people could have died were it not for people like this traitor. I also found the analysis of Philby's lack of self reflection and possible motivations very intriguing, as it examines how he continued to assist a discredited Soviet regime to the detriment of a culture that defined who he was.

This book was very well done!

Anohter good listen from Ben MacIntyre

Th story is great, even if well know, and MacIntyre does a good job of avoiding affording the knowledge and intelligence of the listener. MacIntyre seems to have done his customary job of vacuuming up every detail to be found on his subject, he might have exercised a heavier editors hand it trimming out bits and pieces; in turn, speeding up the action s bit. That's all a quibble with a terrific book.

Insight into a double agent

Great lens to view the reality of spying during ww2 and the cold war. Remarkable story

Excellent book: excellent narration

A fascinating story about the Philby scandal. Extremely well told, exquisitely researched and fantastically narrated. I thoroughly recommend this book.

Solid and gripping.

Lived 85% up to what I was expecting after reading the summary. The first third was slow and built characters up IE the two main spies this book is centered. The second third picks up considerably with 1-2 slower chapters that could have been excluded but laid.. lore.. if you will, but this wasn't a type of novel which needed such defined background actors. Last third was the climax and fall out. Lacked any James bond thriller stories or spy work but did well for a non fiction or a very close non fiction but nothing like a fiction book in the action sense.

Outstanding

Detailed and specific. Separates known facts from assumptions and rumor. The performance of the narrator as well is outstanding, as if it were in a film. Great read

Starts slow, gets good quick.

If you’re a fan of other books in this genre this one is exceptionally good.

It starts out a little slow but gains traction quickly. Highly recommend.

Excellent storytelling...

This is an extremely compelling audiobook. If you’re somebody who loves espionage, this story is for you. Having read The Cambridge Spies, I knew the beginning of Kim Philby’s career but this takes you through World War II and everything afterward. And there’s a lot! If there is a downside, it’s only that it’s so hard to believe there was so much evidence against him that the old boy British Club network refused to acknowledge. The performance was excellent as well.

Outstanding

Incredible book. Very interesting character study of two men. A beautiful blend of psychological and historical facts. Very penetrating analysis.

The Best

I love Ben. He is simply the best. Could you imagine Ben and John L. At a bar bullshitting. Would love to be the guy listening in with a recorder.

Cal I. Andrews.