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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Silent Man: Kim Philby, August 6, 2005
This review is from: My Silent War: The Autobiography of a Spy (Paperback)
Although reviewers are correct in stating that this "autobiography" reveals very little about the author, it should be said that a Philby "expert", who spent a week in Moscow interviewing Philby for the Sunday Times, admitted that even he was not sure who the infamous spy really was. Perhaps Philby himself was doubtful. Philby remains, in essence, a chameleon throughout the book, and his "autobiography" fails to satisfy those who want the answers to two questions: why and how Philby managed to betray his country and bring down an entire intelligence service. There are great gaps in this book. It entirely skips over Philby's recruitment by Soviet agents at Cambridge, and although it begins with an exciting episode in Spain, it describes almost nothing about Philby's "other" work. In fact, there is so little mention of Philby's work as a double agent, that I began to forget that this man, while making great inroads in Turkey and Spain for his service, was betraying it at the very same instance. It is difficult to believe that Philby was a double agent when he shows obvious pleasure in the success of his plans, even when they work against the very people he is supposedly loyal to: the Soviets. At least one thing may be garnered from this autobiography: that Philby was not, as Nigel West pointed out, an "ideologue", but rather a theorist, and a manipulator, who was willing to sacrifice nearly everything to play his complex games of espionage. If, however, you are content to read about the endless political manoeuvring and intriguing inherent in the British intelligence service, along with its restructuring and development during WW2 and post-war years, then this is the book for you. Just don't expect any gripping accounts of Philby's deception. This isn't what Philby's book is about: rather, it's an insider's look into the British intelligence service, with the gloves off. "My Silent War" is, however, well-written, and is certainly not a piece of Communist propaganda, although the reader would do well to remember that the author's prejudice falls heavily on the side of that particular ideology, and therefore his account of several historical figures and events is rather suspect. Philby's arrogance is not altogether off-putting, and in some passages, he can be quite charming, even funny. Still, it is hardly a satisfying autobiography. *I would instead recommend John Le Carre's novel, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", for those looking for a true tale of espionage. Though Le Carre's book is fictional, it is based on the Philby case, and shows the true devestation a "mole" can cause. Le Carre himself was a member of the SIS, and was even an acquaintance of Philby's, and therefore his novel is extremely true to life and makes for fascinating reading.
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27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Who cares if this book influenced Hansson?, January 3, 2002
By A Customer
The autobiography of Kim Philby, minus the last years (25) he spent in the Soviet Union, after his defection in 1963, is STILL a great read, his influncing US spy Hanssen, or not, notwithstanding. Mind you, a great deal of what he states is misinformation, based on fact, but that in itself makes for an even better read, for it is precisely at that game, that of misinforming, that Philby had no peer in the world of intelligence, ever. Moreover, his crafty use of the English language should also provide readers with a clue, or two, about the use of it, as should his former MI6 colleage and friend Graham Greene's brilliant prologue. Philby's unremorsefulness, disdain for his Queen and Country, and true allegiance to the communist cause ( which had already lasted nearly 35 years by the time the book was written), is not really the point here. After his defection, he knew what sort of people would buy his memoirs, and that was for the most part the MI6, MI5, FBI and CIA crowd he'd worked so hard to penetrate, and desinform, through the long years. And, in 1967, he wanted to inflict an even bigger damage on them. In this regard, he only partly succeeded. For a complete overview in the life of this, the most intriguing of all British traitors, interested readers should turn, first and foremost, to "Treason in the blood" ( tracing both Kim's and his famous father St John's lives). In addition, American readers could explore "The Cambridge Spies: The untold story of McLean, Philby and Burgess in America", for a detailed, and harrowing account of how much did Philby and their cohorts achieve, in as little as a seven-year period at the dawn of the Cold War (from McLean's arrival in Washington, in 1944, to Philby's departure from the US, in 1951, and including Burgess' short, but deadly D.C. stay, at the start of the Korean War in 1950), in the penetration of the US intelligence establishment, on Moscow's orders.
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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kim Philby's Autobiography: a Must for Spy-Buffs, January 14, 2005
This review is from: My Silent War: The Autobiography of a Spy (Paperback)
"My Silent War" presents a witty and literate glimpse into the subtle mind of one of the KGB's most successful spies, Kim Philby. The Cambridge graduate had thoroughly penetrated MI6 and was being groomed to be "C", or head of British Intelligence (although some writers including Nigel West dispute this) during World War II and the beginning of the Cold War, when he was finally unmasked because of the flight of his fellow Cambridge spies, Donald Maclean and Guy Burgess. Kim Philby, according to Seale and McConville, has become a "caricature" of "Western demonology," a "byword of reproach," the deadly "viper" in the "trusting bosom of his country" ("Philby: The Long Road to Moscow," 1978, 13). Nigel West's characterization of "My Silent War" as a "vitriolic" memoir illustrates this (even though his assessment of Philby in "The Friends" [1988, 51-68], is otherwise balanced). As evidence of "vitriol" he presents Philby's judgment ("MSW,"109) of Sir Stewart Menzies ("C" of MI6) as an intellectually "unimpressive . . . fairly cloistered son of the upper levels of the British establishment" whose attitudes [as far as counterespionage was concerned] were "schoolboyish-- bars, beards, and blonds"--an assessment that West himself confirms in "The Friends" (117). "Vitriol" in this instance and truth do not seem to be mutually exclusive. Was Menzies truly "hounded" by Philby's words? In retrospect, they seem rather mild when compared to those of John Le Carre (a.k.a. David Cornwell of MI5--eternal rival of MI6) in respect to Philby in the MI5-agent-turned-best-selling-author's introduction to Page, Leitch, and Knightley's "Philby: The Spy who Betrayed a Generation" (1969, 24). Le Carre writes: "In ten year's time [Philby] may be stopping British tourists in the Moscow streets. Imagine that leaky-eye and whisky-voice, that hesitant, soft-footed charm [.]" Now THAT is vitriol! Demonizing only impedes historical truth, as far as it can ever be discerned. Yes, Philby wrote in Moscow under the noses of the KGB, and was therefore selective in his reminiscences, but "My Silent War," written in lucid prose, never ceases to fascinate. Raising as many questions as it answers, the book never sinks to Communist Propaganda-- Philby is too clever by far, and too competent a writer. An absorbing read, Kim Philby' s autobiography fully deserves its niche in the "Modern Library" series.
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