Classic Books Store
My Silent War: The Autobiography of a Spy
RRP: $13.95
Our Price: $11.16
You Save: $ 2.79 ( 20% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Modern Library
Author: Kim Philby
Publisher: Modern Library
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $11.16
You Save: $ 2.79 ( 20% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Modern Library
Author: Kim Philby
Publisher: Modern Library
Average Customer Rating:
Experimental feature: Order My Silent War: The Autobiography of a Spy from the UK, Canada, Germany or France by clicking an appropriate flag below.
Some items available at Amazon.com are not available in all countries.
Some items available at Amazon.com are not available in all countries.
My Silent War: The Autobiography of a Spy Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 327.1247041092
EAN: 9780375759833
ISBN: 0375759832
Label: Modern Library
Manufacturer: Modern Library
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 256
Publication Date: 2002-09-24
Publisher: Modern Library
Product Release Date: 2002-09-24
Studio: Modern Library
Dewey Decimal Number: 327.1247041092
EAN: 9780375759833
ISBN: 0375759832
Label: Modern Library
Manufacturer: Modern Library
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 256
Publication Date: 2002-09-24
Publisher: Modern Library
Product Release Date: 2002-09-24
Studio: Modern Library
Editorial Review of My Silent War: The Autobiography of a Spy
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.
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.
Customer Reviews of My Silent War: The Autobiography of a Spy
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Dry humour, no BS
Review: I just love his humour, the book is straightforward, without any political bull.... The guy only once and very shortly explains his motivation behind "converting" and then goes on to tell it all (or sort of). In this business it is quite impossible to tell it all of course.
As a homo sovieticus myself, I was quite impressed about the information in this book. I would have betted for more censorship, after all it was written in Soviet Union!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Spying in the beginning
Review: Whereas, Philby is extremely circumspect in his story, and reveals almost no details of his traitorous actions, this short text, fully describes the chaos of the early British secret service. This book is almost written tongue-in-cheek, as though Philby is poking fun at his former colleagues. The book borders on catty. He describes some of the people he betrayed with strange affection, and others with old-style British disdain.
What is revealed, and quite lucidly, is the utter chaos of the formation of the British Secret Service in the early years of WWII. He makes it clear how easy it was to manipulate the Service on behalf of his Soviet handlers. His rise to head of the Soviet counter-intelligence group was facilitated by the petty rivalries within the various divisions, each seeking its own funding and personnel.
As his old school education, Cambridge education, and clear articulation reveal, he was moved forward mostly because of his ability to write briefs clearly in a world of petty bureaurocrats who relied on men who were either frankly inept or more concerned with politics than solving problems.
As this book is a quick read (as long as you skip quickly over the various explanations of divisional structures), it is worth a look. I had this book sitting on my shelf for years, but decided to read it after watching "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy". Le Carre has taken much of the Philby betrayal and created his superb spy thriller from actual events of the day.
One interesting footnote, is that Grahame Green remained friends with Philby until his death. Green visited Philby after he removed to Moscow before being arrested.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: WHERE SHALL THE TRAITOR REST?
Review: Treason tends to get rather an unflattering press, however successful and elegant-minded the traitor. The basic question of loyalty goes back, I guess, to time immemorial. Moral philosophers have flailed at it incessantly, all to no purpose whatsoever in my own view. The issue comes down to this - each and every one of us recognises different, and often conflicting, loyalties. Socrates let himself be framed in court on a nonsensical charge and accepted the death penalty in the name of upholding the Law. More fool Socrates, I can only reflect, for all my general enthusiasm for the Rule of Law. Under what circumstances would any of us denounce others for what we would agree was wrongdoing? That would vary, I guess, but I never heard of anyone whose answer was `under any and all circumstances'. In particular, where national laws are involved, they are all in the last resort, as Britain's eminent late Lord Chancellor Quintin Hogg Lord Hailsham observed, `a con'. Nations are not some be-all nor yet any end-all unless we decide for ourselves that they shall be so.
The case of Philby is one where I find the opinions of the Great and the Good more enlightening and useful than I usually find them. Graham Greene goes straight to the main point - Philby has a chilling and unshakable certainty in his adopted communist faith. He offers no apologia for Stalin's atrocities, he just presents the faith to himself as more important and lasting; and that, as Greene says, is what Catholics have done for centuries. What did Philby have against his native land? Frankly, little or nothing that I can see. He is the English of the English. He despises Baldwin and Chamberlain, but so did many without giving their main loyalty to the Soviet Union as Philby did. John le Carre is too outraged to talk sense or fact (?Philby had `no women'? Apart from his being married four times, just read Muggeridge on Philby's proclivities as a womaniser. ?Philby had `no faith'? Well done Philby, if I understand that). Le Carre acknowledges some primacy of patriotism, whereas Greene does not. Nigel West has a different slant, and one that I find interesting. Philby, says West, was fundamentally an ego-tripper, embracing communism by way of exercising his superiority complex. That could be right, but I wouldn't bet much on it.
I simply cannot assess the `sincerity' of Philby's communist convictions: indeed I would not claim to know what I mean by that term. What I do say is that I find the personality put across in Philby's way of expressing himself to be enormously attractive and engaging. In another context, this might be the absolute exemplar of the English public-school product - articulate, elegant, witty, showing a sense of proportion and a delightful sense of the ridiculous. About his private life there is absolutely nothing in this book. He was widowed on one occasion, for all you could tell from this narrative - I found this fact out from the brief curriculum vitae at the back - and I can only wonder what it can have been like to live with a man living this kind of double life, indeed how he slept at all, let alone with someone else. The story-line is as good as Greene says it is - completely riveting and better than most spy novels (Mr le Carre please note). He got away with it all for 11 years after his elite Cambridge lefty friends from the 30's Donald Maclean and Guy Burgess fled to Russia on being unmasked as spies, and they never brought him to trial because he had gone to Moscow via Beirut when the rumbling suspicions were finally confirmed, never to leave.
Philby never really made the headlines in the way Burgess and Maclean did, partly because their discovery was at the height of the early cold war and the baleful era of Joseph McCarthy; partly because they were both homosexual, Maclean of the closet variety, Burgess a complete roarer. After their disappearance I still recall the cartoon by Bud Neil in the Glasgow Evening Times. Two workmen in flat caps were emerging from a manhole in the street, and one of Bud Neil's shapeless women says to another `It widnae be them?' Distance lends enchantment to the view, but Philby has brought a lot of the enchantment back. Eleu loro.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Precious Little Addition to Espionage
Review: Page after page and line after line, this book is amazing in its power to frustrate even the most gawky-eyed initiate in the world of espionage-reading! Philby says pretty much nothing that will add to our knowledge of his ways and mechanics of operation. He is a fine writer, without doubt, but good writing befreft of content? He does not wax expansive on his faith - communism; he does not explain the hows of his first contact with the KGB; he does not even offer a strand of information on his life in Moscow, his marriage, his routine... aww, come on ...
Pick it up and read it one three-hour layover at the airport... then place it in your library so that you have a book (for the record) that was written by THE spy who outdid 'em all!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The Silent Man: Kim Philby
Review: 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.
Review Summary: Dry humour, no BS
Review: I just love his humour, the book is straightforward, without any political bull.... The guy only once and very shortly explains his motivation behind "converting" and then goes on to tell it all (or sort of). In this business it is quite impossible to tell it all of course.
As a homo sovieticus myself, I was quite impressed about the information in this book. I would have betted for more censorship, after all it was written in Soviet Union!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Spying in the beginning
Review: Whereas, Philby is extremely circumspect in his story, and reveals almost no details of his traitorous actions, this short text, fully describes the chaos of the early British secret service. This book is almost written tongue-in-cheek, as though Philby is poking fun at his former colleagues. The book borders on catty. He describes some of the people he betrayed with strange affection, and others with old-style British disdain.
What is revealed, and quite lucidly, is the utter chaos of the formation of the British Secret Service in the early years of WWII. He makes it clear how easy it was to manipulate the Service on behalf of his Soviet handlers. His rise to head of the Soviet counter-intelligence group was facilitated by the petty rivalries within the various divisions, each seeking its own funding and personnel.
As his old school education, Cambridge education, and clear articulation reveal, he was moved forward mostly because of his ability to write briefs clearly in a world of petty bureaurocrats who relied on men who were either frankly inept or more concerned with politics than solving problems.
As this book is a quick read (as long as you skip quickly over the various explanations of divisional structures), it is worth a look. I had this book sitting on my shelf for years, but decided to read it after watching "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy". Le Carre has taken much of the Philby betrayal and created his superb spy thriller from actual events of the day.
One interesting footnote, is that Grahame Green remained friends with Philby until his death. Green visited Philby after he removed to Moscow before being arrested.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: WHERE SHALL THE TRAITOR REST?
Review: Treason tends to get rather an unflattering press, however successful and elegant-minded the traitor. The basic question of loyalty goes back, I guess, to time immemorial. Moral philosophers have flailed at it incessantly, all to no purpose whatsoever in my own view. The issue comes down to this - each and every one of us recognises different, and often conflicting, loyalties. Socrates let himself be framed in court on a nonsensical charge and accepted the death penalty in the name of upholding the Law. More fool Socrates, I can only reflect, for all my general enthusiasm for the Rule of Law. Under what circumstances would any of us denounce others for what we would agree was wrongdoing? That would vary, I guess, but I never heard of anyone whose answer was `under any and all circumstances'. In particular, where national laws are involved, they are all in the last resort, as Britain's eminent late Lord Chancellor Quintin Hogg Lord Hailsham observed, `a con'. Nations are not some be-all nor yet any end-all unless we decide for ourselves that they shall be so.
The case of Philby is one where I find the opinions of the Great and the Good more enlightening and useful than I usually find them. Graham Greene goes straight to the main point - Philby has a chilling and unshakable certainty in his adopted communist faith. He offers no apologia for Stalin's atrocities, he just presents the faith to himself as more important and lasting; and that, as Greene says, is what Catholics have done for centuries. What did Philby have against his native land? Frankly, little or nothing that I can see. He is the English of the English. He despises Baldwin and Chamberlain, but so did many without giving their main loyalty to the Soviet Union as Philby did. John le Carre is too outraged to talk sense or fact (?Philby had `no women'? Apart from his being married four times, just read Muggeridge on Philby's proclivities as a womaniser. ?Philby had `no faith'? Well done Philby, if I understand that). Le Carre acknowledges some primacy of patriotism, whereas Greene does not. Nigel West has a different slant, and one that I find interesting. Philby, says West, was fundamentally an ego-tripper, embracing communism by way of exercising his superiority complex. That could be right, but I wouldn't bet much on it.
I simply cannot assess the `sincerity' of Philby's communist convictions: indeed I would not claim to know what I mean by that term. What I do say is that I find the personality put across in Philby's way of expressing himself to be enormously attractive and engaging. In another context, this might be the absolute exemplar of the English public-school product - articulate, elegant, witty, showing a sense of proportion and a delightful sense of the ridiculous. About his private life there is absolutely nothing in this book. He was widowed on one occasion, for all you could tell from this narrative - I found this fact out from the brief curriculum vitae at the back - and I can only wonder what it can have been like to live with a man living this kind of double life, indeed how he slept at all, let alone with someone else. The story-line is as good as Greene says it is - completely riveting and better than most spy novels (Mr le Carre please note). He got away with it all for 11 years after his elite Cambridge lefty friends from the 30's Donald Maclean and Guy Burgess fled to Russia on being unmasked as spies, and they never brought him to trial because he had gone to Moscow via Beirut when the rumbling suspicions were finally confirmed, never to leave.
Philby never really made the headlines in the way Burgess and Maclean did, partly because their discovery was at the height of the early cold war and the baleful era of Joseph McCarthy; partly because they were both homosexual, Maclean of the closet variety, Burgess a complete roarer. After their disappearance I still recall the cartoon by Bud Neil in the Glasgow Evening Times. Two workmen in flat caps were emerging from a manhole in the street, and one of Bud Neil's shapeless women says to another `It widnae be them?' Distance lends enchantment to the view, but Philby has brought a lot of the enchantment back. Eleu loro.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Precious Little Addition to Espionage
Review: Page after page and line after line, this book is amazing in its power to frustrate even the most gawky-eyed initiate in the world of espionage-reading! Philby says pretty much nothing that will add to our knowledge of his ways and mechanics of operation. He is a fine writer, without doubt, but good writing befreft of content? He does not wax expansive on his faith - communism; he does not explain the hows of his first contact with the KGB; he does not even offer a strand of information on his life in Moscow, his marriage, his routine... aww, come on ...
Pick it up and read it one three-hour layover at the airport... then place it in your library so that you have a book (for the record) that was written by THE spy who outdid 'em all!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The Silent Man: Kim Philby
Review: 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.