The Young Kim Philby: Soviet Spy and British Intelligence Officer
ISBN: 9781781387283
Platform/Publisher: Oxford Academic / Liverpool University Press
Digital rights: Users: Unlimited; Printing: Unlimited; Download: Unlimited
Subjects: Modern History (1700 to 1945);

Kim Philby is perhaps the most notorious traitor in British History and the archetypal spy: ingenious, charming and deceitful. The reluctance of the British and Russian governments to reveal full details of his career meant that for many years a shortage of evidence fuelled controversy. Was Philby an ideological spy, working for the Soviet Union out of Communist conviction, or was he prompted by a personality defect to choose a life of treachery? Was Philby the perfect agent, the 'KGB masterspy', or just plain lucky? In this new biography, Edward Harrison re-examines the crucial early years of Philby's work as a Soviet agent and British intelligence officer using documents from the United Kingdom National Archives, and private papers. He shows how Philby established an early pattern of deceit and betrayed his father St John Philby. But the book also demonstrates how in all the major decisions Philby slavishly sought to emulate his father. This contradicts the myth of independence Philby sought to pr

Edward Harrison taught history at universities in Britain and America for more than 25 years and was recently awarded the annual prize for best article by the journal Intelligence and National Security (2009). He is currently editing Hugh Trevor-Roper's essays and correspondence on British intelligence, 'The Secret World' for I.B. Tauris.

hidden image for function call