Brown tells the extraordinary stories of Kim Philby, a renowned double agent, and his father and mentor, Harry St. John Bridger Philby, who played a key role in establishing the modern Middle East. In this dual biography, the author includes interviews, private papers of both St. John and Kim Philby, and previously unreleased photographs and KGB memoranda--providing an intriguing account of espionage.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Kim Philby, called by Brown "quite possibly the greatest unhanged scoundrel in modern British history," and his father, St. John, are profiled in this dual biography. Philby pere (1885-1960), after a brilliant academic career, worked for a time in the Crown's political department in India and the Middle East, even though he despised British imperialism. He resigned from the service over financial and diplomatic irregularities in 1924. He converted to Islam and became a power in Arabia as an unofficial member of the Privy Council, but no hard evidence exists that he was a spy. Nor, despite the book's title, does Brown make that contention. Born in India, Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1912-1987) was educated at Cambridge, where he made the acquaintance of several classmates who were to influence his life: Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt and Donald Maclean (John Cairncross, one of the Cambridge Five, is hardly mentioned in this account). Brown discusses Philby's homosexual relationships at Cambridge and his indoctrination into the Communist Party but otherwise scants these crucial years. He details Philby's luck in being cleared for the Secret Service; his work disrupting the German intelligence prior to D-Day; his postwar service as First Secretary at the British Embassy in Washington; his part in the Burgess-Maclean escape to Russia in 1951 and his exoneration by the government. Also recounted are Philby's time as a foreign correspondent in Beirut and his defection to Moscow in 1963. Spy buffs will find Brown's (Bodyguard of Lies) perspective on Philby's post-Cambridge years interesting. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Treason in the blood? Father as role model? Philby & Son, Spies? Such Freudian stuff aside, this is as absorbing and instructive a book as history buffs and spy-story lovers will read in the current season. Brown (The Last Hero: Wild Bill Donovan, LJ 12/92) is an old hand at spy tales. Not Kipling and perhaps not even Le Carre could have devised such a father-son story as this. Kim Philby is, of course, at the core of the notorious Burgess-Maclean case; his father is less well known as an intriguer, adventurer (not to say scoundrel), and Orientalist who played a significant role in the emergence of Britain's imperial making of the modern Middle East. True, the Burgess-Maclean-Philby-Blunt story is heavily dissected in a number of books. This one brings together the Philby story as such but not with absolute finality; unanswered questions remain to tease the reader-about moles in London and about who Philby really served. But for a book that covers the modern "great game," this is one of the best.
--Henry Steck, SUNY at Cortland
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--Henry Steck, SUNY at Cortland
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Five Stars for Topic; Three Stars for Research Methods,
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This review is from: Treason in the Blood (Hardcover)
Despite the implications of the title, "Treason in the Blood," Anthony Cave Brown presents a generally well-balanced portrayal of the life of Kim Philby, one of the Soviet Union's Cambridge spies, who had penetrated deeply into MI6 during World War II. Mr. Brown's entertaining account adds missing pieces to the puzzle, beginning with Philby's childhood and his admiration for his usually absent father, St. John, an adventurer who had become a friend and adviser to King Ibn Saud. Brown also presents an absorbing narrative of Kim Philby's depressingly ambiguous reception in the Soviet Union after his hasty departure from Beirut in 1963. The book, which juxtaposes a portrayal of Philby's headstrong father (based upon the elder Philby's reminiscences and letters to his long-suffering wife) with Kim's youth, education, entry and career in espionage (much of the latter being familiar territory), is a 'page-turner' in spite of its 637 pages (including index).
As fascinating as the account of Philby's life in Beirut and Moscow is, however, the reader must be cautious. The author frequently relies uncritically upon evidence supplied by those whose own axes were sharply honed, as it were, since Philby's defection either made them look like fools or cast a shadow of complicity over them. The author also relies occasionally upon a juxtaposition of unrelated events, offering several interpretations, including gossip-- introduced by "it is said"--and leaving the worst interpretation (in respect to Philby's motives) to the last, where it will linger in his readers' minds (This rhetorical technique of innuendo will be recognizable to readers of the Ancient Roman authors, Suetonius and Tacitus.). Perhaps the author's most infuriating fault, however, is the tendency to bring up a question that begs, if not an answer, at least some comment. For example, on p. 518 he notes that Guy Burgess on his deathbed ("is said to have") denounced Philby as a British (and therefore triple) agent, but that Burgess nevertheless bequeathed most of his precious library, some furniture, and a considerable amount of money to Philby. Then the author moves on to another topic, Philby's legal status in the Soviet Union. The reader would like to learn more about Burgess' startling allegations and their implications. Only on p. 589 do we discover from a former KGB agent that Philby could not possibly have been a "British plant" since, being under continual Soviet scrutiny, he had "no contact" with the British in Moscow. Whom are we to believe? Keeping these caveats in mind, the reader will nevertheless be rewarded with a tale of espionage that rarely ceases to enthrall.
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exhaustive and Intriguing, albeit with a political bent,
By Leon "Leon" (United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Treason in the Blood (Hardcover)
The research was top rate; the writing was superb; the factual underpinnings for everything were uncontravertible, and the subject was fascinating. That said, there exists a political bent here that attempts to skew the reader to have a sense of sympathy for Philby. Skip it, Philby was a treacherous lowlife. Clearly Philby had a communist belief system, that's not in question. The real issue of course is, should your ideological belief system justify treasonous acts? In other words, Philby was placed in a position of trust by the British Government. Does the fact that he had the heart of a communist justify the actions he took on behalf of the Soviets? No. In fact, as demonstrated later in his life, which really isn't explored as much as it should have been, Philby clearly become disenchanted with the communist manifesto. The bottom line, however, is that this is a great read, well done
18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Philby - Anti-Hero of 20th Century Ideological Wars,
By A Customer
This review is from: Treason in the Blood (Hardcover)
I think I can say without exaggeration, this is possibly the most important book of the 20th Century to date, which I have just had the good fortune to read within the last 6 months or so of that century. It illuminates and supplies all the linkages between the titanic struggles for the Middle East among the Great Powers of the Nineteenth Century, and the present hellish landscape that is their legacy. Then it goes on to meticulously study the character of Kim Philby, possibly the most important man of the century and certainly the one who embodies most all the contradictions and ambiguity of it. In the end nobody could penetrate this man's psyche, not the British and Americans whom he betrayed, nor the Russians whom he supposedly served. He remained a mystery wrapped inside an enigma to the end. The book causes one to ponder, how many of the great events of this century, turned on this one man? I can see why Graham Greene was so fond of him, because he is the character Graham Greene was trying to perfect in all his novels...
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