Philby steadily climbed the ranks, all the while passing information along to his Soviet handlers.

Thanks to his impressive work and the connections he had, he joined MI6 in 1940. Unlike Elliott, whose staunch allegiance to his homeland never wavered, Philby started covertly working for the Soviet Union in 1934 while he was journalist.

Both were born into prominent British families, both had distant fathers, both went to Cambridge University, and both eventually found their way into the Secret Intelligence Service, learning the arduous craft of espionage at the outset of World War II. Kim Philby and Nicholas Elliott had incredibly similar upbringings. Macintyre explores not only the manner in which Philby betrayed his country, but how he was able to deceive his friends and colleagues in the Foreign Office, particularly Nicholas Elliott. As Philby rose through the ranks in the British intelligence system, he secretly and skillfully passed along classified knowledge to the Soviet Union. His 2014 book A Spy Among Friends chronicles the life of Kim Philby, one of the most successful and notorious double agents in history.

Morris County Cooks: historic menus, recipes & food notesīen Macintyre, a British historian, author, and columnist for The Times, has made a career writing about the art of espionage, primarily focusing on the period leading up to and including the second World War.

Book review a spy among friends