A Spy Among Friends

Ben Macintyre tells the story of Kim Philby, one of the most successful double agents in history. Step by step, he traces his path from a recruit of the British intelligence service to the head of the legendary MI-6's 9th section, and then, after his escape, to a retiree living in Moscow, not far from Kurskaya metro station. What he read, what he listened to, what he watched, who he befriended. Macintyre assigns the main role to this last aspect in his book. After all, the damage inflicted by Philby on the United Kingdom and the United States would have been much less if not for friends who did not believe in the very possibility of his betrayal and covered for him until the end: CIA chief James Angleton and high-ranking MI-6 officer Nicholas Elliott. Chapter by chapter, Macintyre reveals the everyday side of a spy's life. Constant little lies for the sake of one great idea, the necessity to betray those closest to you, an eternal mask on your face, and the impossibility of having a heart-to-heart talk even with the one you call your best friend. What remains in a person after all this? And does anything remain at all?