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The Second Oldest Profession
This comprehensive history of spies, spying, and the intelligence bureaucracy profiles famous spies and intelligence organizations around the world and addresses the question of whether any spying endeavor ever actually changed the course of history
468 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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213 people want to read
About the author
Phillip Knightley
22 books20 followersPhillip Knightley was a special correspondent for The Sunday Times for 20 years (1965-85) and one of the leaders of its Insight investigative team. He was twice named Journalist of the Year (1980 and 1988) in the British Press Awards. He and John Pilger are the only journalists ever to have won it twice.
He was also Granada Reporter of the Year (1980), Colour Magazine Writer of the Year (1982), holder of the Chef and Brewer Crime Writer’s award (1983), and the Overseas Press Club of America award for the best book on foreign affairs in 1975 (The First Casualty).
He has lectured on journalism, law, and war at the National Press Club, Canberra, ACT; the Senate, Canberra, ACT; City University, London; Manchester University, Queen Elizabeth College Oxford, Penn State, UCLA, Stanford University, California; the Inner Temple, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He is a patron of the C.W. Bean Foundation, Canberra ACT.
His two main professional interests have been war reporting and propaganda and espionage. In more than 30 years of writing about espionage he has met most of the spy chiefs of most of the major intelligence services in the world. He dined with Sir Maurice Oldfireld, head of MI6. He lunched with Sir Dick White, head of MI5 and MI6. He corresponded with both. He lunched with Harry Rositzke, head of the CIA’s Soviet bloc division. He lunched with Lyman Kirkpatrick, the CIA’s Inspector-General. He dined with Leonid Shebarshin, head of the KGB. He lunched with Sergei Kondrashov, chief of KGB counter-intelligence. He had drinks with Markus Wolf, head of East German intelligence. He spent one week in Moscow interviewing the notorious British traitor, Kim Philby. He helped KGB general Oleg Kalugin write the outline for his book. He has met dozens of officers and agents from all sides and has written many articles on espionage. Few writers today have his depth of knowledge of the international intelligence community.
Phillip reviews non-fiction books for The Mail on Sunday, The Sunday Times, The Independent (London) and The Australian’s Review of Books and The Age (Australia). He was a judge for Canada’s Lionel Gelber Prize, the world’s biggest for the best book on international relations. He is European representative of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Washington DC.
He is involved in the the Indian literary and publishing scene and has written columns for several leading Indian newspapers and magazines.
He presented the war reporting documentary to mark the 30th anniversary of This Week; a half-hour documentary on truth for schools’ television; has reviewed the papers for BBC Breakfast TV and many What the Papers Say. He has appeared in many documentaries in Britain, Canada and Australia. He is a judge for Canada’s Lionel Gelber Prize for the year’s best book on international relations ($50,000). He is on the management committee of The Society of Authors, London.
Phillip was born in Australia but has worked most of his life in Britain. He now divides his time between Britain, Australia and India. He is married with three grown-up children and relaxes by playing tennis most days.
He was also Granada Reporter of the Year (1980), Colour Magazine Writer of the Year (1982), holder of the Chef and Brewer Crime Writer’s award (1983), and the Overseas Press Club of America award for the best book on foreign affairs in 1975 (The First Casualty).
He has lectured on journalism, law, and war at the National Press Club, Canberra, ACT; the Senate, Canberra, ACT; City University, London; Manchester University, Queen Elizabeth College Oxford, Penn State, UCLA, Stanford University, California; the Inner Temple, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He is a patron of the C.W. Bean Foundation, Canberra ACT.
His two main professional interests have been war reporting and propaganda and espionage. In more than 30 years of writing about espionage he has met most of the spy chiefs of most of the major intelligence services in the world. He dined with Sir Maurice Oldfireld, head of MI6. He lunched with Sir Dick White, head of MI5 and MI6. He corresponded with both. He lunched with Harry Rositzke, head of the CIA’s Soviet bloc division. He lunched with Lyman Kirkpatrick, the CIA’s Inspector-General. He dined with Leonid Shebarshin, head of the KGB. He lunched with Sergei Kondrashov, chief of KGB counter-intelligence. He had drinks with Markus Wolf, head of East German intelligence. He spent one week in Moscow interviewing the notorious British traitor, Kim Philby. He helped KGB general Oleg Kalugin write the outline for his book. He has met dozens of officers and agents from all sides and has written many articles on espionage. Few writers today have his depth of knowledge of the international intelligence community.
Phillip reviews non-fiction books for The Mail on Sunday, The Sunday Times, The Independent (London) and The Australian’s Review of Books and The Age (Australia). He was a judge for Canada’s Lionel Gelber Prize, the world’s biggest for the best book on international relations. He is European representative of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Washington DC.
He is involved in the the Indian literary and publishing scene and has written columns for several leading Indian newspapers and magazines.
He presented the war reporting documentary to mark the 30th anniversary of This Week; a half-hour documentary on truth for schools’ television; has reviewed the papers for BBC Breakfast TV and many What the Papers Say. He has appeared in many documentaries in Britain, Canada and Australia. He is a judge for Canada’s Lionel Gelber Prize for the year’s best book on international relations ($50,000). He is on the management committee of The Society of Authors, London.
Phillip was born in Australia but has worked most of his life in Britain. He now divides his time between Britain, Australia and India. He is married with three grown-up children and relaxes by playing tennis most days.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 9, 2018
Fascinating insight into the rise of secret intelligence services which for obvious reasons, concentrates on the British SIS and America's CIA. The author, Phillip Knightley, wrote for The Times (of London) and other newspapers on the intelligence services and propaganda for 30 years. During that time, he met most of the spy chiefs of all the major intelligence services in the world. This book doesn't gloss over the failures of such agencies and Knightley points out that, worldwide, they have grown into huge bureaucracies with massive budgets. First published in 1987, it shows how and why the major secret intelligence agencies were formed and how their work changed during the 20th Century.
The author questions whether such agencies have ever changed the course of history and whether they should exist at all. Knightley also points out that as their power grows, civil liberties tend to decline - as true now as it was 30 years ago. As the spy fiction writer, John Le Carre, said in his 1987 review of this book: "If Reagan, Gorbachev, Thatcher and Mitterrand only manage one book this year, they could do a lot worse than pick up Philip Knightley's and find out what imbecilities are committed in the hallowed name of intelligence." A marvellous history book which should be required reading and the perfect antidote to the "official" histories which glorify the work of spies.
The author questions whether such agencies have ever changed the course of history and whether they should exist at all. Knightley also points out that as their power grows, civil liberties tend to decline - as true now as it was 30 years ago. As the spy fiction writer, John Le Carre, said in his 1987 review of this book: "If Reagan, Gorbachev, Thatcher and Mitterrand only manage one book this year, they could do a lot worse than pick up Philip Knightley's and find out what imbecilities are committed in the hallowed name of intelligence." A marvellous history book which should be required reading and the perfect antidote to the "official" histories which glorify the work of spies.
September 21, 2013
KNIGHTLEY'S PEOPLE
Phillip Knightley is a fine journalist who played a key role in the coverage of the Thalidomide scandal, wrote a number of books on subjects as diverse as his home country ("Australia: A Biography of a Nation") and the history of war reporting ("The First Casualty: The War Correspondent as Hero, Propagandist, and Myth-maker from the Crimea to the Gulf War II"). In this outing he has written "The Second Oldest Profession", a history of spying in the twentieth century.
As ever Knightley's writing is clear, and easily engages the reader. With regard to his subject, he is focused on the state institutions of spying and their personnel, with particular regard to the experience of Britain, America and the Soviet Union (MI6, CIA, KGB). He is very good on the roots of these organizations and the personalities involved, from the British in the period prior to the Great War, the Soviets during the Civil War and the Americans during WW2. Other countries, primarily Germany and France, only come into the plot as and when their role is deemed important, mostly during both the world wars.
The cast of characters is a large one, though one never feels overwhelmed, perhaps because they are a colourful enough bunch that easily stick in the mind. Knightley is particularly interesting on the Cambridge spy ring in Britain, one of whom (Kim Philby) has been the focus of some of his journalism and a prior book. The coverage of this part is quite detailed and endlessly fascinating, particularly with regard to the genesis of the "Spycatcher" affair in the 1980's. The infamous Peter Wright himself was one of the "young Turks" who believed that Roger Hollis (head of MI5) was a Soviet agent. The sect within MI5 he belonged to come across as paranoid Cold War ideologues par excellence, as their capers around the Labour Governments of the 1960's and 70's make clear.
Other subjects covered include the deleterious effect of spying on the spies themselves, industrial espionage, and the dynamics of the relationship between States and "their" Intelligence agencies. Room for other subjects such as Iran, Vietnam is woefully short, the book is also somewhat threadbare with regard to the world outside the three big spying organisations: Mossad of Israel, BOSS of South Africa and Savak of Shah era Iran are barely mentioned, nor is their much with regard to South America, Africa and Asia. The 2003 edition has been updated, including coverage of the invasion of Iraq and the "War on Terror".
The limitations of scope mean this book can hardly be regarded as a definitive history of twentieth century spying. Nonetheless, it is a constantly interesting and always gripping read. Knightley is not afraid to give his opinions on matters, and as someone who has covered these issues at length during his years reporting, they are always of interest. While not exhaustive, it will certainly give the reader a sceptical insight into the murky world of spying.
Phillip Knightley is a fine journalist who played a key role in the coverage of the Thalidomide scandal, wrote a number of books on subjects as diverse as his home country ("Australia: A Biography of a Nation") and the history of war reporting ("The First Casualty: The War Correspondent as Hero, Propagandist, and Myth-maker from the Crimea to the Gulf War II"). In this outing he has written "The Second Oldest Profession", a history of spying in the twentieth century.
As ever Knightley's writing is clear, and easily engages the reader. With regard to his subject, he is focused on the state institutions of spying and their personnel, with particular regard to the experience of Britain, America and the Soviet Union (MI6, CIA, KGB). He is very good on the roots of these organizations and the personalities involved, from the British in the period prior to the Great War, the Soviets during the Civil War and the Americans during WW2. Other countries, primarily Germany and France, only come into the plot as and when their role is deemed important, mostly during both the world wars.
The cast of characters is a large one, though one never feels overwhelmed, perhaps because they are a colourful enough bunch that easily stick in the mind. Knightley is particularly interesting on the Cambridge spy ring in Britain, one of whom (Kim Philby) has been the focus of some of his journalism and a prior book. The coverage of this part is quite detailed and endlessly fascinating, particularly with regard to the genesis of the "Spycatcher" affair in the 1980's. The infamous Peter Wright himself was one of the "young Turks" who believed that Roger Hollis (head of MI5) was a Soviet agent. The sect within MI5 he belonged to come across as paranoid Cold War ideologues par excellence, as their capers around the Labour Governments of the 1960's and 70's make clear.
Other subjects covered include the deleterious effect of spying on the spies themselves, industrial espionage, and the dynamics of the relationship between States and "their" Intelligence agencies. Room for other subjects such as Iran, Vietnam is woefully short, the book is also somewhat threadbare with regard to the world outside the three big spying organisations: Mossad of Israel, BOSS of South Africa and Savak of Shah era Iran are barely mentioned, nor is their much with regard to South America, Africa and Asia. The 2003 edition has been updated, including coverage of the invasion of Iraq and the "War on Terror".
The limitations of scope mean this book can hardly be regarded as a definitive history of twentieth century spying. Nonetheless, it is a constantly interesting and always gripping read. Knightley is not afraid to give his opinions on matters, and as someone who has covered these issues at length during his years reporting, they are always of interest. While not exhaustive, it will certainly give the reader a sceptical insight into the murky world of spying.
June 15, 2013
This book, which I read in 2006, was the first step leading me, unwittingly, on the path of classical liberalism. Knightley shows how the 20th century's first government spy agency MI5 began--not to counter security threats--to deal with informants giving information about German spies. Not because those spies existed, mind you, but because all the German spies in the fictional bestseller *Riddle of the Sands* had led many readers to think they saw German spies quite often. The incompetence and corruption exposed throughout the book helps you understand why the CIA and FBI failed Americans in preventing 9/11. You will also wonder why more CIA and FBI powers would be the solution.
September 4, 2020
A history of modern espionage starting from the British spy panic of the early 1900's. Looking past the myth and romance, Knightley looks critically on the few successes and many failures of the field.
June 30, 2021
Holy crap, was this a fun book or what? (short answer: it was)
Spies and espionage have been working to nefarious ends for as long as civilizations have risen and fallen around the world, but in the 20th century the notion of making it a profession akin to civil service took hold. As Phillip Knightley points out in "The Second Oldest Profession," that may not have been a good thing. For every success story (the few that he can find), Knightley shows multiple instances where the intelligence agencies of his native England, as well as those of Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany, and the USA, were either hoodwinked or deliberately fudging the truth in several instances over the course of the century just past. There's a whole lot of debunking going on here, which is fantastic because it puts the spy fictions of John Le Carre and Ian Fleming in some kind of context (the romantic adventure of pre-James Bond secret agents versus the disaffected melancholy of Le Carre's brilliant creations both doing a lot of bolster up the notion that Britain was particularly good at espionage, which Knightley goes to lengths to show was not in fact the case). I came across my copy of this at a library book sale, I have no idea if he ever updated it for further editions but this one dates from the last few years of the Cold War and shows how ridiculous both sides often were (and what the human costs could sometimes be, which is less amusing). I enjoyed this book a lot, and would recommend seeking it out if you're into spy fiction but want to know the real deal (and are prepared to have more than a few sacred cows of espionage debunked).
Spies and espionage have been working to nefarious ends for as long as civilizations have risen and fallen around the world, but in the 20th century the notion of making it a profession akin to civil service took hold. As Phillip Knightley points out in "The Second Oldest Profession," that may not have been a good thing. For every success story (the few that he can find), Knightley shows multiple instances where the intelligence agencies of his native England, as well as those of Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany, and the USA, were either hoodwinked or deliberately fudging the truth in several instances over the course of the century just past. There's a whole lot of debunking going on here, which is fantastic because it puts the spy fictions of John Le Carre and Ian Fleming in some kind of context (the romantic adventure of pre-James Bond secret agents versus the disaffected melancholy of Le Carre's brilliant creations both doing a lot of bolster up the notion that Britain was particularly good at espionage, which Knightley goes to lengths to show was not in fact the case). I came across my copy of this at a library book sale, I have no idea if he ever updated it for further editions but this one dates from the last few years of the Cold War and shows how ridiculous both sides often were (and what the human costs could sometimes be, which is less amusing). I enjoyed this book a lot, and would recommend seeking it out if you're into spy fiction but want to know the real deal (and are prepared to have more than a few sacred cows of espionage debunked).
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April 7, 2022Who ever thought that espionage could be so boring? Plodding and political, with seemingly endless quotes from other places.
John le Carré is quoted on the front cover "If Reagan, Thatcher, Gorbachev, and Mitterand, only manage [to read] one book this year..." If they read this one, they probably DID only manage to read one book that year.
John le Carré is quoted on the front cover "If Reagan, Thatcher, Gorbachev, and Mitterand, only manage [to read] one book this year..." If they read this one, they probably DID only manage to read one book that year.
April 22, 2013
A decent book, though not exactly what I thought I was buying. I thought I'd be getting something with a bit more low-level Cloak and Dagger spying details, but that's not what this is; it's more of a high level, rivalries among various agencies, budgetary and political issues, etc etc sort of thing.
Near the end it does suffer a bit, as its first writing was in 1986, leaving its final chapter written at that time feeling a bit musty, and the last chapter on 9/11 feels bolted on, which it is.
But overall does a decent job of communicating its general thesis, which is that much intelligence effort and money is all wasted in a big circle jerk.
Near the end it does suffer a bit, as its first writing was in 1986, leaving its final chapter written at that time feeling a bit musty, and the last chapter on 9/11 feels bolted on, which it is.
But overall does a decent job of communicating its general thesis, which is that much intelligence effort and money is all wasted in a big circle jerk.
December 5, 2015
three stars as compared to similar books... a bit dry... but (saving grace..) detailed info about WWI and inter-war years..
December 23, 2019
Good job deflating the pretensions of 20th century, mainly Anglo, intelligence agencies.
January 13, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews