His book does not threaten the vital interests of Britain

Press, 23 July 1987, Page 12

His book does not threaten the vital interests of Britain

tive in every way. And Glee also reviews the case against Hollis at equal length te Wright and with altogther more balance. He is persuaded — and successfully persuades the reader — that Hollis, far from being a Soviet agent, was a dedicated hunter of Soviet moles, and by no means an unsuccessful one.

That conclusion is one to which the general reader may come by common sense at the end of the Wright book, should it fall into his hands. Wright is revealed, by his own pen, as a specialist whose outlook is distorted by his own specialism. An eavesdropper by profession, he seems to have reached the position in which the only truths that carried conviction for him were those that were overheard. Eavesdroppers, the old saw has it, never hear anything to their own advantage. Wright undoubtedly overheard much that was interesting in his long career, and some things that were significant But he -lacks the perspective, perhaps even the wit, to make the significant things he overheard consistent and convincing. His book, as a result doe not threaten the vital interests of the State and the Government might have been better advised to let its, demerits speak for themselves. “The Spycatcher" by Peter Wright is published in the United States by Viking at SUSi 9.95. JOHN KEEGAN is a distinguished military historian, the author of many books, and formerly a lecturer at Sandhurst military college in Britain. He is now defence correspondent of the "Daily Telegraph."