- Hardcover: 392 pages
- Publisher: Viking Pr; 1st Edition 7th Printing edition (1987)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0670820555
- ISBN-13: 978-0670820559
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 16 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 103,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Peter Wright was a key figure in British Intelligence for nearly 25 years. This is a memoir that recounts his extraordinary carrer in that wilderness of mirrors, the world of espionage. It is uncensored, remarkably candid, and enormously revealing about t
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is one of those books that I came to late in the game, but after perusing the first page of "Spycatcher", I couldn't put it down for three days! One of the reasons that I resisted reading it was that various espionage writers have criticized the book for its inaccuracies (So he got the date of Philby's interrogation wrong!). I am actually glad that I read the thesaurus of other espionage books including "The Second Oldest Profession," "The Crown Jewels," "My Silent War," "The Philby Files," "Anthony Blunt," (etc.) first, because by the time I read "Spycatcher," I was thoroughly familiar with the multifarious cast of characters. However, as much as I have enjoyed other espionage books, "Spycatcher" surpasses them in one respect: it gives details of tradecraft--now certainly outdated, but nevertheless fascinating--that are impossible in an account of Philby or Blunt who, by necessity, had to remain silent about the fine particulars of their work in intelligence--whether Soviet or British (In "Crown Jewels," Mr. West gives us a glimpse of such details, which the opening of the KGB archives has made accessible.).
Peter Wright lets the reader peek over his shoulder as he installs--what were at that time--sophisticated bugs behind convincing false doors at midnight. He also gives the reader a good chuckle when such operations go disastrously awry and floors collapse or cables are cut, and the work has to begin all over again.
The author writes a wry account of brazen Russian agents importuning numerous passers-by in various London parks in an effort to "turn" them into Soviet assets, until the police, at Wright's instigation, out-brazen the agents by threatening to arrest them for harassment of British subjects. He also informs us of MI5's system of Watchers, who were posted all over London and its environs, whose chief duty was to tail diplomats and cypher clerks from the Soviet embassy (A memorable moment occurs when 105 Russians are declared PNG and expelled from Britain in 1971--an event I recall seeing on television.).
The author's anecdote of Klop Ustinov (actor Peter's father), who had served British Intelligence so faithfully and effectively (at great peril) throughout World War II, and who was living in penury without a pension, is particularly poignant, probably to highlight Wright's own predicament in the pension department at the end of his career (Desmond Bristow of SIS relates a similar story of official cheese-paring in "A Game of Moles.").
The thrust of "Spycatcher" is to build a case against Roger Hollis, the former Director General of MI5, who was at the helm when so many of Wright's operations went wrong. Whether Hollis was a Soviet agent or not (Bristow, who believed that the British intelligence agencies were riddled with Soviet penetration agents, echoes Wright's suspicions in "A Game of Moles."), Peter Wright builds an intriguing circumstantial case against him, noting that the leaks to the Russians and the ruined operations stopped after Hollis had retired. As far as Wright was concerned, the case against Hollis was not proven but the suspicion remained. It was to haunt him the rest of his life.
Peter Wright lets the reader peek over his shoulder as he installs--what were at that time--sophisticated bugs behind convincing false doors at midnight. He also gives the reader a good chuckle when such operations go disastrously awry and floors collapse or cables are cut, and the work has to begin all over again.
The author writes a wry account of brazen Russian agents importuning numerous passers-by in various London parks in an effort to "turn" them into Soviet assets, until the police, at Wright's instigation, out-brazen the agents by threatening to arrest them for harassment of British subjects. He also informs us of MI5's system of Watchers, who were posted all over London and its environs, whose chief duty was to tail diplomats and cypher clerks from the Soviet embassy (A memorable moment occurs when 105 Russians are declared PNG and expelled from Britain in 1971--an event I recall seeing on television.).
The author's anecdote of Klop Ustinov (actor Peter's father), who had served British Intelligence so faithfully and effectively (at great peril) throughout World War II, and who was living in penury without a pension, is particularly poignant, probably to highlight Wright's own predicament in the pension department at the end of his career (Desmond Bristow of SIS relates a similar story of official cheese-paring in "A Game of Moles.").
The thrust of "Spycatcher" is to build a case against Roger Hollis, the former Director General of MI5, who was at the helm when so many of Wright's operations went wrong. Whether Hollis was a Soviet agent or not (Bristow, who believed that the British intelligence agencies were riddled with Soviet penetration agents, echoes Wright's suspicions in "A Game of Moles."), Peter Wright builds an intriguing circumstantial case against him, noting that the leaks to the Russians and the ruined operations stopped after Hollis had retired. As far as Wright was concerned, the case against Hollis was not proven but the suspicion remained. It was to haunt him the rest of his life.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
This is above all an entertaining book really. There is something about it that makes you want to re-read it again after you just finished. I gave it four stars cause it starts to plod a bit say two thirds in, although picks up again towards the end. It tells the story of Wright's career, his eventual job as a spy catcher within MI5, some of the more famous spys he dealt with and MI5's relations with MI6, GCHQ the FBI and CIA.
Format:Hardcover
I read the book basically hot off the press when it was banned in the UK in 1987.
Then a scintillating read, now, it is still a good read but dated and there are suggestions that some incidents have been embellished to read better.
'Treachery' by Chapman Pincher is an update on the Cambridge 5 and a excellent read even though some of what is written has been in the public domain for years.
Then a scintillating read, now, it is still a good read but dated and there are suggestions that some incidents have been embellished to read better.
'Treachery' by Chapman Pincher is an update on the Cambridge 5 and a excellent read even though some of what is written has been in the public domain for years.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
An immodest author with a lot to be modest about.
Altogether very disappointing.
The lack of *real* technical details (and, indeed, the pathetic descriptions of how things work) makes me wonder just what sort of expert... Read more
The lack of *real* technical details (and, indeed, the pathetic descriptions of how things work) makes me wonder just what sort of expert... Read more
Published on 1 Nov 2009 by A. Lake
The truth is out.
This book makes a very good read from Peter Wright, were would be be without whistle blowers, I would say deep in poopoo, all in all a great read and unable to put down until the... Read more
Published on 9 Aug 2009 by BBBarabbus
Entertaining - yes, history - no
As a scholar of intelligence studies, I would like to point out that it is now generally accepted by all but a minority of conspiracy theorists that Peter Wright's book is not... Read more
Published on 15 Nov 2007 by Book Enthusiast
Initially banned in the UK
Much of the notoriety of this title is because it was banned in the UK when first launched back in 1987. Read more
Published on 1 Oct 2007 by John
The details make the book
I think the technical and beaurocratic detail makes this book what it is, a fascinating insight into the real intelligence services. It's not Flemming and why would it be? Read more
Published on 17 July 2007 by T. Glover
A peice of interesting history rather than the rant of an old man
Although this book clearly suffers from some evident bias it nonetheless provides an interesting account of a on-the-whole unknown area of contemporary society. Read more
Published on 3 Jan 2007 by Andrew Futter
Interesting topic, shame about the book.
A fairly revealing account of an engaging topic and the juicy details of high-level and high-profile national betrayal. Read more
Published on 3 Oct 2006 by Talc Demon
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