A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership

Reading this, you want to like the guy. His message is that the he had no political agenda and everything he did was forced upon him. Though he admits, others could have made principled choices different from his, he says he would make the same choices again, which, though he admits were not ideal, were the only way to keep the FBI from appearing biased. Here's why I was not convinced.

The FBI already appeared biased. He fully admits that individual agents (and law enforcement in general) tends to be conservative but insists they could do their job despite this. Even assuming for the sake of argument that this is true, when he announced the reopening of the Clinton email case so close to the election, it gave the impression of bias anyway. It was well known (and discussed by the media) that the FBI was, in the words of one agent who spoke to The Guardian, Trumplandia. His announcement was going to be seen in that context. He would appear biased. He argues, what if he didn't announce it and it was leaked instead? That would actually have looked better, especially when it was followed by an announcement that there was nothing of substance found by the investigation. And he should have made heroic efforts to prevent any leak. He doesn't tell us of any such efforts at all. In the end, he appears to be defending himself. Still, I want to like the guy.

Earlier in the book, he condemns the use of torture by the CIA, says it was unnecessary despite what they claimed and tells of his efforts to prevent the justice department from giving it legal cover. He tells it in the context of he and John Ashcroft outmaneuvering Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzales. If you weren't careful you would think that was the whole story. In fact, he actually signed off on the legality waterboarding (as long as it wasn't done mixed in with other "enhanced interrogation techniques.") I wonder how many readers of the book know this. I wouldn't have had I not read about it on line. If he told the whole truth, admitting that he couldn't declare it illegal on the technicality of how torture was defined by law, it would have looked better for him. (One's downfall is always the coverup.)

Still, he tells some good stories and writes well so he gets 3 stars. You want to like the guy.

My impression of James Comey as a man is at odds with my impression of this book of his.

Comey worked as General Counsel for Lockheed Martin at the same time I participated in their Leadership Development program, so I heard his keynote to us in 2010 as he was preparing to leave for Bridgewater. His speech's clarity and structure impressed me, and he gave us practical advice. His writing style sounds like the innocently principled prose of former President Jimmy Carter, but unlike Carter, deliberately prefaces his version of each event with stories of how honorable and bipartisan he is, even explicitly drawing parallels to George Washington.

After spending most of the book emphasizing how critical it is to have good leaders, Comey says he's sure the country will be fine with a bad leader, and that we'll become stronger as a country because of it. I think this jarring inconsistency in his worldview is ego protection, allowing him to disown responsibility for the consequences of his actions.

In the end, his argument appears to be that "good" people acting with "good" intentions can't possibly cause anything but "good" outcomes. That in fact, the consequences are irrelevant to people who act from their principles. In the best light, he appears to be invoking the modern Christian attitude of fatalism that "God is in control" or that it'll all turn out right in the end, even if that end is the apocalypse.

This book adds very little additional information to current events and little value to leadership training, management, or political theory. It comes across as a dissembling cover-your-ass, and possibly a way of cashing in on media attention.

According to this book, James Comey's alignment is Lawful Good (I'd go so far as to call him a paladin), and Trump's is chaotic evil. No wonder they didn't get along.
In the first chapters, Comey describes his formative years and early career, focusing on leaders who made an impression on him, including his boss at his first job. He then moves on to the reasons you bought this book: the reasons why he made his much-discussed announcement about reopening the investigation into Hillary Clinton's email; his private meetings with Donald Trump, and his eventual firing.
All in all, he comes across as honest, and with a deep love and appreciation for the institutions that make America free. As far as I can tell, the book lines up with what we the public know from news reports. I could be wrong, because who can keep up anymore?
If you're a Trump supporter, you won't like the comparisons Comey draws between Trump and the Mafia bosses he used to pursue earlier in his career. But even so, the book is worth considering for its insight into what makes a good leader, and why separation of powers makes America strong.

In this excellent and important book, former FBI director James Comey writes what are essentially his memoirs, but with a very obvious purpose. Drawing on episodes throughout his personal life and professional life, which includes his time prosecuting members of the mafia and Martha Stewart, and serving three presidents as deputy attorney general or FBI director, Comey highlights traits, good and bad, that he observed in others and helped shape his ideal of ethical leadership, an ideal which he strove for. While doing so, he methodically and logically builds a case against President Trump’s style of leadership, despite not mentioning his name until the final few chapters.

The book is a fascinating take on what happens at the highest levels of our government, including some pretty dramatic events such as the race between then Deputy Attorney General Comey and the White House counsel to Attorney General Ashcroft’s hospital bed. Comey’s appraisal of the various figures he worked for or with seems even-handed and fair. But mostly it’s a reminder of that higher loyalty all of us should have, not to our political tribe but to building and maintaining a just nation for all.

If you watch the news at all or read the 1 star Amazon reviews by people who appear not to have read the book you will be led to believe this is a book about Trump, and bashing him, or outing him as unfit in some way. Especially if you know that the RNC has gone out of their way to create a website just ahead of the book release for the sole purpose of Comey bashing. So let me bust that myth. This is not a book about Trump. There are no big jaw dropping Trump secrets here. This is a book about James Comey, from his early childhood until the here and now. Comey touches on childhood memories, being bullied, later on participating or at least turning a blind eye to bullyng himself. He speaks on his experience being home alone with his brother when the "Ramsey Rapist" broke into his house. He tells you how and why he decided to pursue law as a career instead of becoming a doctor. There are humorous anecdotes about his first job in the grocery store and yes some about his final days as FBI director. You do not have to be a fan of Comey or any of his decisions to enjoy this book. You may or may not be satisfied with his explanation of why he decided to make such public announcements on Hilary's emails, but that is a small part of this book. Personally I was not satisfied and he does admit that others may have handled it differently. If you are only looking for bombshells this book is not for you. By the time it gets to the visit to alert Trump to the salacious allegations the book is 70% over, because as I said this is not a book about Trump.
Even if I do not agree with Comey's decisions to publicly give his opinion on one candidate while withholding the fact that there is an investigation surrounding the other even with the "classified info" that he says we still do not know about I was still able to enjoy this book. I agree with his assessment in the last televised interview he gave, that if Comey is an idiot he is at least an honest idiot.
Amazon rejected my review even though my copy came from there, and even though they allowed reviews from people who obviously have not read the book and who have said nothing about the book and only bashed the author. My original review did not mention Amazon, this was added after the rejection