Kim Philby: The Unknown Story of the KGB's Master-Spy: A Story of Friendship and Betrayal - Hardcover

Tim Milne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1849546991 ISBN 13: 9781849546997

Publisher: Biteback Publishing, 2014

Synopsis

Kim Philby, the so-called Third Man in the Cambridge spy ring, was the Cold War's most infamous traitor, a Soviet spy at the heart of British intelligence. Philby joined Britain's secret service MI6 during the war and went on to head the section tasked with rooting out Russian spies before becoming the service's chief liaison officer with the CIA. He betrayed hundreds of British and US agents to the Russians and compromised numerous operations inside the Soviet Union. Tim Milne was Philby's closest and oldest friend. They studied at Westminster School together and when Philby joined MI6 he immediately recruited Milne as his deputy. Philby's treachery was a huge blow to Milne and, after he retired, he wrote a highly revealing description of Philby's time in the secret service. Publication of the memoirs was banned by MI6 but, after Milne's death in 2010, his family were determined that this insider's account of the Philby affair be published. Edited to include newly released top-secret documents showing how the KGB's master spy managed to fool MI6 even after he defected to Moscow, this is the final word on one of the world's most notorious spies by the MI6 colleague who knew him best, the insider account of the Philby affair that Britain's spy chiefs did not want you to read.

About this title

Review:

The demons which drove the proudly English Kim Philby to betray his country, its people and especially his MI6 colleagues have never before been so intimately examined and explained. A fascinating look into the mind of a tragic figure by his oldest and closest friend. --Chapman Pincher, author of Their Trade Is Treachery and Dangerous To Know

A fascinating, very personal account of Philby's treachery from his SIS colleague, teenage travelling companion and schoolboy friend who was left utterly betrayed. This is a unique insight from an insider. --Nigel West, author of The Crown Jewels and Operation Garbo

Elegant and rich in detail, it provides intriguing glimpses of the man who would become the 20th century's most notorious British spy and traitor. --Mail On Sunday

An often intimate portrait of the Third Man, candid in its assessments. --The Telegraph

[Milne] explains one of the most enduring mysteries surrounding the notorious Soviet spy. --The Guardian

There are some good anecdotes here - the cricketing recollections are Milne's - and some interesting suggestions that Philby wasn't such a big boozer as he's usually cracked up to be. Was this a pretence too? Yet what stands out above all is just how little bitterness Milne felt. --John Preston, Daily Mail

Milne's account of Philby is full of delightful trivia, but there is personal insight too. --Edward Wilson, The Independent

Tim Milne's finely written and refreshingly unhysterical book... Milne gives fascinating and revealing accounts of his friend's behaviour and attitudes. It might seem that by now Philby as a subject had been done to death, but as these two books amply illustrate, he is still a source of fascination and wonderment. --John Banville, The Guardian

The book offers a fascinating glimpse of the charismatic Philby. --William Chislett, El Imparcial

A workmanlike, honest account that unpeels a lifetime's friendship with the man whose treachery cost thousands of lives. --Ben Felsenburg, Metro

There are some good anecdotes here - the cricketing recollections are Milne's - and some interesting suggestions that Philby wasn't such a big boozer as he's usually cracked up to be. Was this a pretence too? Yet what stands out above all is just how little bitterness Milne felt. --John Preston, Daily Mail

About the Author:

Ian Innes Tim Milne CMG OBE, nephew of A. A. Milne, was born in Brentford in 1912. He won a King's Scholarship to Westminster School and then read Classics at Christ Church, Oxford. In 1934, he became a copywriter with the advertising agency S. H. Benson, working on a number of accounts, including Guinness, Kodak, Bovril and Colman's mustard. He was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1940 and in October 1941 recruited into MI6 by his childhood friend Kim Philby. Milne continued to work in MI6 until 1968, serving in Iran, Germany, Switzerland, Japan and Hong Kong. After leaving MI6, he became a senior clerk in the House of Commons. He retired in 1978 and subsequently wrote these memoirs but, due to an MI6 ban on the book, he never saw them published. Milne died in 2010.

About this edition

• Publisher: Biteback Publishing
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1849546991
• ISBN 13: 9781849546997
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304