Spy Catcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer

This book is not just about Philby he is only one actor . Peter Wright spent most of his service finding spies. And also admits that MI5 and MI6 were compromised with many soviet penetrations. The author seems to be honest about that and the way many of his brethren refused to believe the evidence and indicators there was a real internal problem . Wright said an interesting thing.. His family had hard times during the depression . He found it interesting that he never strayed away from faith in his country's Government but the affluent young college men, hardly affected by hardship of the 30s were seduced into the communist myth. The famous Cambridge 5 were not the only problem for the British. The author explains a number of reasons for the distrust the US had for British intelligence. This is somewhat Ironic as the US had its own penetrations. It seems both countries were not as good at spying as they thought.I think the book is a good look at British and to a degree US intelligence after WW2. It is the first step to understanding how bad we got it and our probable misreading of many facts. One I suspect is Soviet spies got hold of the Government paper suggesting we should stand down the missiles in Turkey and rely on Polaris subs in the Mediterranean to protect the area. Khrushchev learned about this and realized he could leverage Cuba to get the missiles out of Turkey stifling his vocal opponents. The Missiles were outdated so the US wanted them gone.... but didn't want to offend Turkey . ( Which they did in the end fixing the crisis .)Its a very good book on the subject and I wish I found sooner. I found it well written and always interesting.

In the 1950s one thing led to another and the unwitting dupes of MI5 began uncovering a spy ring, labeled the Cambridge Five by the British press, because it included five upper class Brits who had been undergraduate buddies at Cambridge.In actual fact, throughout the alleged Cold War, the top level of the pyramid at MI6 COLLUDED with the top levels of the KGB, CIA, and Mossad....but the lower-level minions were not let in on the charade. No, the lower level Keystone Kops, the cipher clerks, the secretaries, and case officers, were allowed to run around and spy and live and die as if the agencies were at war.In doing their duty, the Kops now and then bumped into each other; they defected, they stole secrets (that had already being exchanged among the covert heads of their respective agencies). The Kops concocted 'stings'; they seduced each others' spies and wives and took compromising photos. A patina of verisimilitude was added to the charade by a steady stream of earnest Soviet defectors to Britain and the US. For the most part the Soviet defectors were merely sent to stir the Cold War pot; others bolted from the USSR in search of the higher living standards of the West, or, in the case of defector Golieniewski, who claimed to be tsarevich Alexei Romanov, in search of a claim on the Romanov fortune).The Kops' inquiries began nibbling at the edges of the Burgess-MacLean links with Soviet spies. Suddenly Donald MacLean and Guy Burgess, alerted to their pending arrest, defected to the Soviet Union. The MI5 hiccupped but was not appeased. MI5 agents who suspected that MacLean and Burgess had been tipped off, began sniffing about in widening circles and ever more rarefied heights. Something had to be done to thwart an investigation by over-earnest MI5 minions who might inadvertently follow the chain of command to unacceptable heights. Kim Philby fell under suspicion, as one of the few agents aware of the shadow over Maclean and Burgess. Philby managed to avoid arrest for months. But the MI5 minions did not give up.After being questioned, Kim Philby bolted to the USSR. His defection should have nipped the investigation in the bud. For awhile, it seemed that Philby's defection effectively ended the investigation. But then, no, the investigation again began blindly groping upwards. Sir Anthony Blunt was the next designated spy to be thrown under the Cold War bus. Blunt named John Cairncross as part of the spy ring. Eventually a couple of other agents were tarred with Sir Blunt's brush. The spy hunt was over.But Sir Blunt somehow never came to trial. Curiously, Wright waxes almost poetic about Blunt's talents: "Blunt was one of the most elegant, charming, and cultivated men I have met. He could speak five languages, and the range and depth of his knowledge was profoundly impressive." (p 224)The head of MI6, Victor Rothschild (married to Theresa Mayer, who had been an agent for MI5 during WW II) came under some suspicion for being a close friend of all of the Cambridge Five. According to Wright, however, "suspicions against Victor swiftly melted." (p 216). Victor, who, as Wright noted, played jazz piano "with great skill and elan", obviously was incapable of being involved in some grubby way with the KGB.According to Wright, Victor Rothschild's main concern was how to break the news of Blunt's treachery to his wife Theresa, who counted Blunt among her nearest and dearest friends. Victor asked Wright to help him with the delicate task of informing Theresa of the terrible, terrible news. Victor told Wright: "I think it would be better if the news came from you." (p 215). Wright was suitably flattered.Wright told Theresa about her friend's character lapse -- and Theresa was shocked, just shocked at Blunt's treachery. In her words, "All those years," she whispered, "and I never suspected anything." (p 216).Ha, ha.We can thank Peter Wright for getting to the bottom (if not to the top) of the Cambridge Five...Six...Seven... or... oh heck, make it the Cambridge Eight.[Listen to the short and sweet version of the Cold War on youtube: /watch?v=m7ty2rPqvwA]

One of the best spy reading, and if true extreemly reveling. The book is best read by those living through 1960's as then you can follow the history, Ahristine Keeler, Blunt etc and Harold Wilson all come to life in this MI5 & MI6 book.

From reading the book I now know the difference (at least I think I do) between MI5 and MI6. its amazing how things can be going on around us and all we see of it is a facade. Is anyone who they really say they are? "Peter, why do you think I'm a spy"? We do the best we can to get the facts but in the world of espionage, how do you really know? Then take into account we are human and prone to err. Great book and I've recommended it and i like reading about the who is doing the bugging and how they are doing it

Spying and counter spying is tedious mind numbing and boring this is an example of the reality of it all

Reveals the bumbling and fumbling of British intelligence after world war 2. Thankfully they learned from their mistakes!!! Or have they?

Finally reading this 20 years after the scandal of it's publication, it really seems pretty tame. The writing style is fairly two-dimensional, although it's interesting to get a glimpse inside the British secret services of fifty years ago. The most interesting thread in the book is their search for the Soviet spy they know is in their top ranks. A Soviet spy in their top ranks and the don't just shut the whole thing down! It's a little more than an "I did his, then I did that" autobiography, but not much more.

I read this book when it was first published in America. This was a refresher course for me. When the Soviet Union dissolved, I believed that it was merely "an attack in a different direction," a pause in the cold war in order to reform the Soviet Union's failed institutions Sooner or later the old guard would reappear with new spots but just as lethal. This appears to be true. That makes this out of print book relevant today and still a great read today.

As an Englishman who was for years a victim of the dirty tricks department of the British Secret Service, I was delighted to acquire a copy of Spycatcher from my contact in the USA while it was banned in the UK. When the book eventually became available in the UK, I was able to disclose how the Secret Service had interfered with my work as Chairman of British and overseas-based banking and trading companies and tried to ruin me as punishment for refusing to join their organisation as a double agent. I suggest that readers of Spycather should also study the relevant section of RAF LIBERATOR OVER THE EASTERN FRONT available from AMAZON BOOKS.

Sounds like a badly written and extremely boring Bond book.One gets the impression that this is how MI5 wish to be portrayed rather than how they ARE.If it were at all genuine I am sure it would have been stopped and Mr Righton shot.It was permitted on the basis of satisfying public curiosity. For anyone who can bear to read it, they are made of sterner stuff than I am, and I have read Possession by AS Byatt and The Ragged Trousered Philathropists, which are also extremely long and tedious at times.I have not finished it yet but I have been bought Christmas books far more interesting.Doubtless it will travel to all sorts of hospital waiting rooms with me over the years.

To like about it is that it was the first time an insider had gone public about MI5 at a time when the Government neither confirmed or denied it existed. To this day I think no other insider has done it without approval. The downside is that it is technical about electronic apparatases and he can repeat himself. He was obsessed that Roger Hollis then head of MI5 was a Soviet double agent; he says less about Harold Wilson which is more what he is remembered for. It's worth reading as it is old now and cheap 2nd hand copies are available. Rather than divulging secrets of how the spooks operate it gives insight into the mentality of Wright and his associates although he left 40-odd years ago so the culture within that world may be very different now.

An excellent read if you're interested in what our intelligence services get up to, and extremely enlightening too - in a scary way!In my eyes this almost feels like the beginnings of what we now call 'Big Brother', and I was amazed at just what our governments got up to back then. The stories of what MI5 & 6, the CIA and NSA were up to back in post WWII, and carrying on up until the 70s/80s, may +as they certainly did me - shock you (unless of course you're already in the know).Spycatcher's modern day equivalent would be Snowden, which I can also recommend.Big Brother really is out there...

Peter Wright stepped out of the shadows (I suspect because of the renaging on a 'gentlemans' word to honour his Naval R&D Pension credits) to give an insightful (and unwelcomed establishment) window into the necessary world of spy chess. I agree with his daming conclusion. We don't live in a world of cotton wool and spice, all things nice...I fully support the Security Services and their onerous and difficult task, however PR is a vital part for public eyes and ears engagement. We don't need to know current operational Sources & Methods. Highly recommend.