Ben Macintyre – Cannonball Read 17

With Enemies Like These

A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre

May 9, 2025 by Jake Leave a Comment

I don’t think there’s much of a distinction between this and Ben Macintyre’s other works: it’s well researched, narratively streamlined, and occasionally thrilling. But this feels like his best book by far. And I don’t have much in the way of justification for saying that aside from how deeply personal it feels like Kim Philby’s betrayal still feels to him and the English. I say “the English” specifically because while MI-6 technically serves the United Kingdom, this is very much an English story. A story […]

This One’s A Thriller

The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War by Ben MacIntyre

March 29, 2025 by Jake Leave a Comment

First of all: RIP Oleg Gordievsky. I picked this up unaware he died earlier in March. Or maybe I had heard it and my subconscious urged me to read it. Either way, hope he rests in peace. Yeah the “reads like a thriller” tag is accurate here. I really do need to read more Ben MacIntyre. I’ve tried with MacIntyre before and while his books are good, I need to be in a specific headspace to read non-fiction and stuff kept getting in the way. […]

With Enemies Like These, Who Needs Friends?

A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre

August 7, 2023 by jeverett15 Leave a Comment

A Spy Among Friends is a story about probably the most successful double agent, and the worst friend, in history. Kim Philby, son of a prominent scholar, rose through the ranks of Britain’s MI6 intelligence service during World War II. Thanks mainly to his charm and his impeccable credentials, Philby served in a series of tremendously important positions in England and abroad, often running the most sensitive and dangerous operations. He was also a Soviet spy. Nicholas Elliott’s career at MI6 rose in parallel with […]

It’s a real life spy thriller! (And it’s really good!)

The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War by Ben Macintyre

February 6, 2021 by LaneyFace Leave a Comment

Oh boy, do I love a good espionage thriller. So, continuing with my “what’s free and available” method of choosing books, I picked up my father’s copy of Ben Macintyre’s The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War. This is the true story of a high-ranking KGB official who defected to MI6 during the deepest freeze of the Cold War. (KGB is Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti for anyone who plays trivia – it seems like a formidable bonus question). Macintyre interviews […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

Help Our Mission