Kim Philby was a vile human being, not only did he send hundreds directly to their deaths he is implicated in the deaths of thousands, he drove one wife to suicide and deserted another.
But Kim Philby was " one of us " - "us" being an old Etonian, a member of the upper class so he couldn't have been a spy, it just wasn't done by old Etonians. What was staggering and has been the subject of several books, it was known he was a spy but his friends managed to get him re-instated to the extent that he was allowed to work again for MI6, once again because he was "one of us".
He hoodwinked the British and American Intelligence communities for over 30 years. It actually makes an oxymoron of intelligence" after you have read this.
As noted there are lots of books about Philby but for me this is the best in that there is no pretence, no excuses, it states he was scum ( my word) and proves it, there is nothing redeemable about the man. Its been said he was loyal to friends but this isn't true either as be betrayed their every confidence.
This is a great read, it says much about the class system through which a man is accepted into the secret world because he was at Eton 'with me'. This attitude got many brave people summarily executed.
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