Tina Tamman
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Tina Tamman was 26 when she arrived in the UK from Estonia, then part of the Soviet Union. It took her a long time to adjust because absolutely everything was new to her. She first found employment in the wine trade and then with the BBC, translating and editing news. This led to her interest in history and to research and writing. She was awarded a PhD from the University of Glasgow in 2010.
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Portrait of a Secret Agent who Knew Kim Philby
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Biography
This is a book about belonging, loyalty and identity – a biography of a secret agent called Brian Giffey who wrongly believed that he was Welsh, but his mother was actually Canadian and his father German. Born illegitimate as Otto Chester Kurt Brian Petersen in London in 1887, he was brought up in Germany. On his return to Britain he obtained a degree from Oxford and, with the help of an unscrupulous lawyer, a military career became possible. Brian joined the Worcestershire Regiment in 1911. His intelligence career with MI6 started in 1928; he served in Tallinn, London and Baghdad. In 1944, however, he was mysteriously dismissed from the secret service, but in post-war years he represented Britain in Berlin on the denazification committee and, back in London, worked for the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain. Brian was a specialist in Soviet affairs who knew the notorious Kim Philby. His biography helps us to understand how the Soviets used the information obtained for them by Philby. The book is also relevant today as Russia flexes its muscles. What happened in Crimea in 2014 is reminiscent of the annexation of Estonia in 1939-40 experienced first-hand by Brian. The book is also an unusual and moving love story. How was it possible for this middle-aged womaniser to fall in love with an inexperienced and immature Estonian girl to whom he remained faithful for the rest of his life? Sample "Portrait of a Secret Agent" Portrait of a Secret Agent Review Reviews at Goodreads
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