BEN MACINTYRE is a writer-at-large for The Times of London and the bestselling author of Double Cross, Operation Mincemeat, Agent Zigzag, The Napoleon of Crime, and Forgotten Fatherland, among other books. Macintyre has also written and presented BBC documentaries of his work.
New York Times Bestseller New York Times Book Review Notable Book
An Amazon Best Book of the Year Washington Post Notable Book
Entertainment Weekly's Best Spy Book of 2014 "Macintyre has
produced more than just a spy story. He has written a narrative
about that most complex of topics, friendship...When devouring this
thriller, I had to keep reminding myself it was not a novel. It
reads like a story by Graham Greene, Ian Fleming, or John Le Carre,
leavened with a dollop of P.G. Wodehouse...[Macintyre] takes a
fresh look at the grandest espionage drama of our era."--Walter
Isaacson, New York Times Book Review "Superb... Riveting reading."
-Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker "Macintyre does here what he does
best -- tell a heck of a good story. A Spy Among Friends is hands
down the most entertaining book I've reviewed this year." --Boston
Globe "Macintyre is a superb writer, with an eye for the telling
detail as fine as any novelist's...A Spy Among Friends is as
suspenseful as any novel, too, as the clues tighten around Philby's
guilt."--Dallas Morning News "By now, the story of British double
agent Harold 'Kim' Philby may be the most familiar spy yarn ever,
fodder for whole libraries of histories, personal memoirs and
novels. But Ben Macintyre manages to retell it in a way that makes
Philby's destructive genius fresh and horridly fascinating."--David
Ignatius, Washington Post
"A Spy Among Friends is a rollicking book. Mr. Macintyre is full of
pep and never falters in the headlong rush of his narrative."--Wall
Street Journal "Vivid and fascinating...[Macintyre] succeeds
admirably."--Newsday "A crisply written tale of a classic
intelligence case that remains relevant more than 50 years
later."--USA Today
"Excellent...I was thoroughly engrossed in this book, beginning to
end. It has all the suspense of a good spy novel, and its
characters are a complex mix of charm, eccentricity, intelligence
and wit. And it offers a great--and mostly troubling--insight into
the behind-the-scenes workings of those we entrust with the most
important of our political and military secrets."--The Huffington
Post "Working with colorful characters and an anything-can-happen
attitude, Macintyre builds up a picture of an intelligence
community chock-full of intrigue and betrayal, in which Philby was
the undisputed king of lies...Entertaining and lively, Macintyre's
account makes the best fictional thrillers seem tame." --Publishers
Weekly [starred] "Gripping and as well-crafted as an episode of
Smiley's People, full of cynical inevitability, secrets, lashings
of whiskey and corpses." --Kirkus Reviews [starred] "Ben Macintyre
(Double Cross) offers a fresh look at master double agent Kim
Philby...Fans of James Bond will enjoy this look into the era that
inspired Ian Fleming's novels, but any suspense-loving student of
human nature will be shocked and thrilled by this true narrative of
deceit."--Shelf Awareness [starred] "Ben Macintyre has a knack for
finding the most fascinating storylines in history. He has done it
again, with this spellbinding tale of espionage, friendship, and
betrayal. Written with an historian's fidelity to fact and a
novelist's eye for character, A Spy Among Friends is one terrific
book." --David Grann, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost
City of Z "Ben Macintyre is one of the most gifted espionage
writers around. In A Spy Among Friends he weaves an absorbing tale
of deceit and duplicity, of treason and betrayal. With exquisite
detail and masterful control, Macintyre unveils the dark and
treacherous interior worlds in which spies live." --Annie Jacobsen,
author of Area 51 and Operation Paperclip
"In this spellbinding account of friendship and betrayal, Ben
Macintyre masterfully describes how the Cambridge-educated Kim
Philby evaded justice by exploiting the incestuous snobbery of the
British old-boy network, which refused to believe that one of its
own could be a major Soviet spy. As riveting as Macintyre's earlier
books were, this searing portrait of Britain's ruling class is even
better." --Lynne Olson, bestselling author of Citizens of London
and Those Angry Days "Ben Macintyre has written a truly fabulous
book about the "fabulous" Kim Philby--the suave, dedicated, and
most intriguing spy of the entire Cold War era. Philby and his
colorful Cambridge comrades are endlessly fascinating. But
Macintyre tells the devastating story in an entirely new fashion,
with new sources and an astonishing intimacy."
--Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and author of The
Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames "I have seldom had a
better read than A Spy Among Friends. It reads like a thriller, a
thriller of a peculiarly intricate and at times frightening sort,
but you just can't stop reading it." --Lady Antonia Fraser, author
of Marie Antoinette: The Journey "The Philby story has been told
many times, but never with such sensitivity. Almost inadvertently,
Ben Macintyre, a Times columnist, provides a devastating critique
of the British class system and the disasters that result when
people assume they know people... A Spy Among Friends is an
extraordinary book about a sordid profession in which the most
important attribute is the ability to lie.... Macintyre's focus on
friendship brings an intimacy to this book that is missing from the
cardboard stereotypes that populate spy novels and conventional
espionage histories...I'm not a lover of spy novels, yet I adored
this book." -The Times of London "Macintyre writes with the
diligence and insight of a journalist, and the panache of a born
storyteller, concentrating on Philby's friendship with and betrayal
of Elliott and of Angleton, his pathetically dedicated admirer at
the top of the CIA. Macintyre's account of the verbal duel between
Elliott and Philby in their final confrontation in Beirut in 1963
is worthy of John le Carre at his best."-The Guardian "A Spy Among
Friends, a classic spookfest, is also a brilliant reconciliation of
history and entertainment...An unputdownable postwar thriller whose
every incredible detail is fact not fiction...[a] spellbinding
narrative...Part of the archetypal grip this story holds for the
reader is as a case study in the existential truth that, in human
relations, the Other is never really knowable. For both, the mask
became indistinguishable from reality...A Spy Among Friends is not
just an elegy, it is an unforgettable requiem." -The Observer "Ben
Macintyre's bottomlessly fascinating new book is an exploration of
Kim Philby's friendships, particularly with Nicholas Elliott...
Other books on Philby may have left one with a feeling of grudging
respect, but A Spy Among Friends draws out his icy cold
heart...This book consists of 300 pages; I would have been happy
had it been three times as long." -The Mail on Sunday
"Such a summary does no justice to Macintyre's marvellously shrewd
and detailed account of Philby's nefarious career. It is both
authoritative and enthralling... The book is all the more
intriguing because it carries an afterward by John le Carre." -The
New Statesman "No one writes about deceit and subterfuge so
dramatically, authoritatively or perceptively [as Ben Macintyre].
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."
-The Daily Mail "Philby's story has been told many times
before-both in biography and most notably in John le Carre's
fictional masterpiece Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy-but never in such
exhaustive detail and with such panache as in Ben MacIntyre's
brilliant, compulsive A Spy Among Friends... Reads like fiction,
which is testament to the extraordinary power of the story itself
but also to the skills of the storyteller...One of the best
real-life spy stories one is ever likely to read." -The Express
"Ben Macintyre has written an engaging book on a tantalising and
ultimately tragic subject. If it starts as a study of friendship,
it ends as an indictment." -The Spectator
"New York Times" Bestseller
"New York Times Book Review "Notable Book
An Amazon Best Book of the Year
"Washington Post "Notable Book
"Entertainment Weekly"'s Best Spy Book of 2014
Macintyre has produced more than just a spy story. He has written a
narrative about that most complex of topics, friendship...When
devouring this thriller, I had to keep reminding myself it was not
a novel. It reads like a story by Graham Greene, Ian Fleming, or
John Le Carre, leavened with a dollop of P.G.
Wodehouse...[Macintyre] takes a fresh look at the grandest
espionage drama of our era. Walter Isaacson," New York Times Book
Review"
Superb Riveting reading. Malcolm Gladwell, "The New Yorker"
Macintyre does here what he does best tell a heck of a good story.
"A Spy Among Friends" is hands down the most entertaining book I ve
reviewed this year. "Boston Globe"
Macintyre is a superb writer, with an eye for the telling detail as
fine as any novelist s "A Spy Among Friends"is as suspenseful as
any novel, too, as the clues tighten around Philby s guilt. "Dallas
Morning News"
By now, the story of British double agent Harold Kim Philby may be
the most familiar spy yarn ever, fodder for whole libraries of
histories, personal memoirs and novels. But Ben Macintyre manages
to retell it in a way that makes Philby s destructive genius fresh
and horridly fascinating. David Ignatius, "Washington Post"
"A Spy Among Friends" is a rollicking book. Mr. Macintyre is full
of pep and never falters in the headlong rush of his narrative.
"Wall Street Journal"
Vivid and fascinating...[Macintyre] succeeds admirably.
"Newsday"
A crisply written tale of a classic intelligence case that remains
relevant more than 50 years later. "USA Today
"
Excellent...I was thoroughly engrossed in this book, beginning to
end. It has all the suspense of a good spy novel, and its
characters are a complex mix of charm, eccentricity, intelligence
and wit. And it offers a great--and mostly troubling insight into
the behind-the-scenes workings of those we entrust with the most
important of our political and military secrets. "The Huffington
Post"
Working with colorful characters and an anything-can-happen
attitude, Macintyre builds up a picture of an intelligence
community chock-full of intrigue and betrayal, in which Philby was
the undisputed king of lies Entertaining and lively, Macintyre s
account makes the best fictional thrillers seem tame. "Publishers
Weekly [starred]"
Gripping and as well-crafted as an episode of "Smiley s People,"
full of cynical inevitability, secrets, lashings of whiskey and
corpses. "Kirkus Reviews" [starred]
Ben Macintyre ("Double Cross") offers a fresh look at master double
agent Kim Philby Fans of James Bond will enjoy this look into the
era that inspired Ian Fleming's novels, but any suspense-loving
student of human nature will be shocked and thrilled by this true
narrative of deceit. "Shelf Awareness" [starred]
Ben Macintyre has a knack for finding the most fascinating
storylines in history. He has done it again, with this spellbinding
tale of espionage, friendship, and betrayal. Written with an
historian s fidelity to fact and a novelist s eye for character, "A
Spy Among Friends" is one terrific book. David Grann, "New York
Times" bestselling author of "The Lost City of Z"
Ben Macintyre is one of the most gifted espionage writers around.
In"A Spy Among Friends"he weaves an absorbing tale of deceit and
duplicity, of treason and betrayal. With exquisite detail and
masterful control, Macintyre unveils the dark and treacherous
interior worlds in which spies live. Annie Jacobsen, author of
"Area 51 "and "Operation Paperclip"
In this spellbinding account of friendship and betrayal, Ben
Macintyre masterfully describes how the Cambridge-educated Kim
Philby evaded justice by exploiting the incestuous snobbery of the
British old-boy network, which refused to believe that one of its
own could be a major Soviet spy. As riveting as Macintyre s earlier
books were, this searing portrait of Britain's ruling class is even
better. Lynne Olson, bestselling author of "Citizens of London" and
"Those Angry Days"
Ben Macintyre has written a truly fabulous book about the
"fabulous" Kim Philby the suave, dedicated, and most intriguing spy
of the entire Cold War era. Philby and his colorful Cambridge
comrades are endlessly fascinating. But Macintyre tells the
devastating story in an entirely new fashion, with new sources and
an astonishing intimacy.
Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and author of "The Good
Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames"
I have seldom had a better read than "A Spy Among Friends. "It
reads like a thriller, a thriller of a peculiarly intricate and at
times frightening sort, but you just can t stop reading it. Lady
Antonia Fraser, author of "Marie Antoinette: The Journey"
The Philby story has been told many times, but never with such
sensitivity. Almost inadvertently, Ben Macintyre,
a"Times"columnist, provides a devastating critique of the British
class system and the disasters that result when people assume they
know people " A Spy Among Friends"is an extraordinary book about a
sordid profession in which the most important attribute is the
ability to lie . Macintyre s focus on friendship brings an intimacy
to this book that is missing from the cardboard stereotypes that
populate spy novels and conventional espionage histories I m not a
lover of spy novels, yet I adored this book. "The Times of
London"
" "Macintyre writes withthe diligence and insight of a journalist,
and the panache of a born storyteller, concentrating on Philby's
friendship with and betrayal of Elliott and of Angleton, his
pathetically dedicated admirer at the top of the CIA. Macintyre's
account of the verbal duel between Elliott and Philby in their
final confrontation in Beirut in 1963 isworthy ofJohn le Carreat
his best. "The Guardian"
" A Spy Among Friends," a classic spookfest, is also a brilliant
reconciliation of history and entertainment An unputdownable
postwar thriller whose every incredible detail is fact not fiction
[a] spellbinding narrative Part of the archetypal grip this story
holds for the reader is as a case study in the existential truth
that, in human relations, the Other is never really knowable. For
both, the mask became indistinguishable from reality "A Spy Among
Friends"is not just an elegy, it is an unforgettable requiem.
"TheObserver"
Ben Macintyre s bottomlessly fascinating new book is an exploration
of Kim Philby s friendships, particularly with Nicholas Elliott
Other books on Philby may have left one with a feeling of grudging
respect, but "A Spy Among Friends" draws out his icy cold heart
This book consists of 300 pages; I would have been happy had it
been three times as long. "The Mail on Sunday"
Such a summary does no justice to Macintyre's marvellously shrewd
and detailed account of Philby's nefarious career. It is both
authoritative and enthralling... The book is all the more
intriguing because it carries an afterward by John le Carre. "The
New Statesman"
No one writes about deceit and subterfuge so dramatically,
authoritatively or perceptively [as Ben Macintyre]. 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. "The
Daily Mail"
Philby's story has been told many times before both in biography
and most notably in John le Carre's fictional masterpiece "Tinker
Tailor Soldier Spy" but never in such exhaustive detail and with
such panache as in Ben MacIntyre's brilliant, compulsive "A Spy
Among Friends" Reads like fiction, which is testament to the
extraordinary power of the story itself but also to the skills of
the storyteller One of the best real-life spy stories one is ever
likely to read. "The Express"
Ben Macintyre has written an engaging book on a tantalising and
ultimately tragic subject. If it starts as a study of friendship,
it ends as an indictment. "The Spectator""
Ask a Question About this Product More... |