A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre

This episode of ReadingforWisdom features a review of A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal (2014) by Ben Macintyre. The book is the most comprehensive, and up-to-date account of the life and career of the most notorious spy and traitor of modern (or possibly all) time, Kim Philby. The book depth and quality of research is matched by its depth and quality of writing; Macintyre’s narrative carried the reader at a breakneck pace through the stranger than fiction story line until its epic, bewildering, jaw-dropping conclusion, still all-the-more fantastic though the story is well-known to most Westerners of a certain age.

A bonus is an afterword from John Le Carre who provides his own take on one of the book's central characters, MI6's Nicholas Elliott, Philby's long-time friend and protector, and ultimately one of the key 'friends' betrayed by Philby.

ReadingforWisdom is a YouTube channel aimed at exploring some of the ideas around the idea of books as a timeless technology, essential for our intellectual evolution as a species. Considering ‘books’ can and will take us in all sorts of intellectual journeys but the channel does have a natural bias towards discussions about books, their ideas and authors who focus on history, warfare, politics, culture, science and the human condition (ok, most things that matter then). The videos will explore the history of religion but, unlike much content on the web referring to ‘wisdom’, it is a thoroughly secular enterprise, the editor a lifelong religious sceptic.

[Mrsevasunshine]

I learnt about Kim Philby at the University while studying Graham Greene for english literature. Given my albanian ancestry, my profesor told me to read more about one of the best friends of Greene, precisely Philby. His betrayal changed the life of the albanians condamned to 50 years of living into the communist regime. I had no idea, it was a huge discovering.
Thanks for sharing your video.