24 August 2019

 Book Log 2019 #38: A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre

This is a very engaging retelling of the Kim Philby spy case, enhanced by the personal storyline of how Philby's friends - most notably fellow spy Nicholas Elliott - kept supporting Philby, even while the web of lies he created to hide his double cross became increasingly tenuous.

There's also an interesting class angle here, as there was an assumption that Philby, who went to the right schools, knew the right people, and had the right background, couldn't be working for the Soviets. This assumption allowed Philby to operate for nearly 20 years, and underscores why the old boy network isn't a great operating principle.

Very much worth reading if you're into this sort of thing. You may want to squeeze this in before the TV version hits screens, with Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce in the starring roles.

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For want of anything better to post, here's a breakdown of if I've been to the most populous 100 cities in the US, and if so for how...