Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
A Spy Among Friends
- Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal
- Narrated by: Michael Tudor Barnes
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
99p for the first 3 months
A Spy Among Friends
Buy Now for £14.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
Summary
Bloomsbury presents A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre, read by Michael Tudor Barnes.
The Sunday Times number-one best-selling story of Kim Philby, history’s most famous traitor, featuring an afterword by John le Carré.
Kim Philby was the most notorious British defector and Soviet mole in history. Agent, double agent, traitor and enigma, he betrayed every secret of Allied operations to the Russians in the early years of the Cold War.
Philby’s two closest friends in the intelligence world, Nicholas Elliott of MI6 and James Jesus Angleton, the CIA intelligence chief, thought they knew Philby better than anyone, and then discovered they had not known him at all. This is a story of intimate duplicity, of loyalty, trust and treachery, class and conscience, of an ideological battle waged by men with cut-glass accents and well-made suits in the comfortable clubs and restaurants of London and Washington, of male friendships forged and then systematically betrayed.
With access to newly released MI5 files and previously unseen family papers, and with the cooperation of former officers of MI6 and the CIA, this definitive biography unlocks what is perhaps the last great secret of the Cold War.
Critic reviews
"An engaging book on a tantalising and ultimately tragic subject, If it starts as a study of friendship, it ends as an indictment." (Philip Hensher, Spectator)
"No one writes about deceit and subterfuge so dramatically, authoritatively or perceptively. To read A Spy Among Friends is a bit like climbing aboard a runaway train in terms of speed and excitement - except that Macintyre knows exactly where he is going and is in total control of his material." (Daily Mail, Books of the Week)
"It reads like fiction, which is testament to the extraordinary power of the story itself but also to the skills of the storyteller...at least as compelling as any of the great fictionalised accounts of Britain's greatest traitor and one of the best real-life spy stories one is ever likely to read." (Daily Express)
More from the same
What listeners say about A Spy Among Friends
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- C. Geake
- 27-07-21
incredible story, well written and expertly read
I am a fan of all Ben MacIntyres spy histories. I have this in paperback but it's so good I thought I'd "read" it again via Audible. brilliant, 5*.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr. K. Wardrope
- 16-09-21
well explained and decent narration.
Ben MacIntyre brings everything together with well ballamced description and understanding of his subject.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mairi Deighan
- 20-10-21
Fascinating
A shocking account of the extent of Philby's treachery and treason. Not as nerve-wracking as McIntyre's other book, 'The Traitor and the Spy' but still a page-turner. This story is also more profound in terms of how much damage and death Philby inflicted.
The narrator has an excellent voice for the story but some of the voices seemed a struggle, yet this didn't impact the enjoyment of listening.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 07-02-23
Great listen and Story
Great all round. I have followed the Story of The Cambridge spies for years. This is a great insight into the background of not only Philby but also the reasons he was allowed to get away with things for so long. Great narration also. Highly recommend 👍
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- francis p culley
- 01-02-23
astonishing
if you like spy stories this is one for you. enjoy the twists and turns.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Fred
- 19-09-21
Interesting
An interesting book but not as captivating as others of the genre. Still, definitely worth listening too. Narration excellent.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- prince_huggy
- 17-11-21
Superb!
Superb. Brilliantly read. The one thing that let's it down is so the name doing but you get used to it
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Darren Rowan
- 02-04-22
Fascinating
I knew next to nothing about Kim Filby and there has clearly been a lot of speculation about this spy and his associated betrayal. I found this account fascinating and believable. It’s a real insight into how the British intelligence worked during the Cold War and how how a class system blinkered everyone.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Paul Gower
- 06-01-23
A fabulous thing
Ben Mac excelling again, this one only bettered by A Spy and a Traitor. 5 ⭐️
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- bookish
- 11-01-23
Gripping and terrifying
Another brilliant Ben Macintyre book, thoroughly gripping and well crafted, terrifying in the long and patient game played in infiltrating the British security system. I wish they'd told Michael Tudor Barnes how to pronounce Enver Hoxha correctly though, as that drove me nuts everytime he spoke about him.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!