Synopses & Reviews
When Kim Philby fled to Moscow in 1963, he became the most notorious double agent in the history of espionage. Recruited into His Majestys Secret Intelligence Service at the beginning of World War II, he rose to become the chief liaison officer with the CIA in Washington after the war. The exposure of a group of British double agents known as the Cambridge Five led to the revelation that Philby had begun spying for the Soviet Union years before he joined the British intelligence service. He eventually fled to Moscow and spent the last twenty-five years of his life in Russia.
In Young Philby, Robert Littell recounts the little-known story of the spys early years, exploring the evolution of a mysteriously beguiling man who kept his masters on both sides of the Iron Curtain guessing about his ultimate loyalties. As each layer of ambiguity is exposed, the question surfaces: Who was the real Kim Philby?
Review
“A dizzying, 'what if' take on (in)famous British spy Kim Philby. … Littell shows particular skill at recreating pulse-quickening epic scenes of conflict—the Russian-backed uprising against Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss, the war against fascist dictator Francisco Franco, and the horrors of Stalins kangaroo courts and of Moscow prisons. … A Cold-War spy novel for the top shelf.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A riveting read." —Frederick Forsyth
Praise for Robert Littell
“One of those writers, like Elmore Leonard, who have risen far above genre... One of the most talented, most original voices in American fiction today, period.”—The Washington Post
“If Robert Littell didnt invent the spy novel, he should have.”—Tom Clancy
“Psychologically interesting thrillers that rival in their intensity and the delivery of their plots the best work of John le Carré.”—Chicago Tribune
“Along with Alan Furst, the best American spy writer currently at work.”—Daily Telegraph (UK)
“Arguably, along with le Carré and Alan Furst, one of the best three or four espionage writers alive.”
—The Boston Globe
“One of the most original and authoritative writers of spy fiction of our time.” —The London Literary Review
“The American master of literary espionage.” —The Independent (UK)
About the Author
Robert Littell is the author of sixteen previous novels and the nonfiction book For the Future of Israel, written with Shimon Peres, president of Israel. He has been awarded both the English Gold Dagger and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for his fiction. His novel The Company was a New York Times bestseller and was adapted into a television miniseries. He lives in France.