Book

My Silent War: The Autobiography of a Spy

2002

Synopsis

In the annals of espionage, one name towers above all others: that of H.A.R. “Kim” Philby, the ringleader of the legendary Cambridge spies. A member of the British establishment, Philby joined the Secret Intelligence Service in 1940, rose to the head of Soviet counterintelligence, and, as MI6’s liaison with the CIA and the FBI, betrayed every secret of Allied operations to the Russians, fatally compromising covert actions to roll back the Iron Curtain in the early years of the Cold War.

Written from Moscow in 1967, My Silent War shook the world and introduced a new archetype in fiction: the unrepentant spy. It inspired John le Carré’s Smiley novels and the later espionage novels of Graham Greene. Kim Philby was history’s most successful spy. He was also an exceptional writer who gave us the great iconic story of the Cold War and revolutionized, in the process, the art of espionage writing.

Suggested Reading

The Master Spy: The Story of Kim Philby

"The Master Spy: The Story of Kim Philby" by Phillip Knightley offers an in-depth and intimate exploration of the life of Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby, one of the most infamous spies of the 20th century. The book draws heavily on a series of remarkably candid interviews Knightley conducted wit...

A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal

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 Br...

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