A Higher Loyalty
Truth, Lies, and Leadership
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4.3 • 38 Ratings
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- £5.99
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
The inspiration for The Comey Rule, the Showtime limited series starring Jeff Daniels premiering September 2020
The sensational Sunday Times #1 Bestseller about taking on the mafia, the Clintons and Trump.
'An urgent clarion call.' - The Financial Times
In A Higher Loyalty, his massive Number One bestselling memoir, former FBI director James Comey shares his never-before-told experiences from some of the highest-stakes situations of his career in the past two decades of American government, exploring what good, ethical leadership looks like, and how it drives sound decisions. His journey provides an unprecedented entry into the corridors of power, and a remarkable lesson in what makes an effective leader.
Mr. Comey served as director of the FBI from 2013 to 2017, appointed to the post by President Barack Obama. He previously served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and the U.S. deputy attorney general in the administration of President George W. Bush. From prosecuting the Mafia and Martha Stewart to helping change the Bush administration's policies on torture and electronic surveillance, overseeing the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation as well as ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, Comey has been involved in some of the most consequential cases and policies of recent history.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The ex-FBI director whose firing by President Trump, over the FBI's investigation of Russian government interference in the 2016 election, sparked a furor reopens that case and others in this piercing and candid memoir. Comey revisits conflicts between duty and politics under three presidents: as deputy attorney general, wrangling with the Bush White House over the legality of interrogation procedures such as waterboarding; in a dramatic scene, guarding the hospitalized attorney general John Ashcroft from White House officials' bedside efforts to reauthorize illegal surveillance programs; and overseeing the FBI's probe of Hillary Clinton's emails (he revisits and explains the actions that, it has been claimed, cost her the election). Comey mines his recollections for leadership lessons, with Barack Obama, whom he admires, furnishing the best examples. His damning portrait of Trump, on the other hand, is a study in unethical, off-putting anti-leadership: he likens Trump to a Mafia boss for pressuring him to show personal loyalty and drop the investigation of Trump's national security adviser Michael Flynn, cringes at Trump's defensive and crass denials of claims that he consorted with Russian prostitutes, and "desperately tr to erase myself from the president's field of vision at a gathering to avoid Trump's unpleasant schmoozing. This is a troubling and important account of the clash between power and justice.
Customer Reviews
Still unanswered questions about the Clinton emails
I bought this book to get a greater insight into why Comey made the announcement about reopening the Clinton email investigation so close to Election Day. I wasn't particularly interested in his early career however that part of his life was engagingly described, and at times, poignant, particularly the death of his newborn son.
I expected the narrative to be dry and presented as a lawyer would present a case. But that wasn't so.
There were however, some quirky bits. For example he almost always described his official car as a "fully armoured Suburban" rather than simply "a Suburban". Occasional his description of people included their race e.g Harry Howell, a white grocery store owner, or the Reverend Young, a black pastor. Their race added nothing to the narrative in much the same way as "the Reverend Young, a pastor with a nose in the middle of his face" adds nothing.
Early in the book he describes his involvement with the Stellar Wind programme. This was set up by the National Security Agency in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. The purpose of the programme was to conduct electronic surveillance of suspected terrorists. The extent of the surveillance was approved by the Attorney General's. Stellar Wind had been operational for a number of years and Comey was asked to review and approve the terms of reference. He refused on the grounds that some of the previous activities were illegal. The programme continued with some changes.
Fast forward a couple years and Comey is complaining that companies like Apple are making it possible for people to encrypt their data. Comey sees this as against the interests of the country since even with a search warrant the FBI would be unable to gather information on the stored data. Comey appears to have lost sight of his misgivings about the misuse of Stellar Wind.
And so to the Clinton emails. Throughout the book Comey is able to recall dates, conversations, etc with enviable ease. He puts forward a compelling argument of why he disclosed that he was reopening the investigation. However, he is unsure of who told him about the new evidence or why it took him over three weeks to grasp the importance of it. The delay is very significant since, had a search warrant been obtained at the outset, the case would have been closed within a few days which would have allowed Clinton (and Trump) to have their say on the matter.
Regardless of his best intent, and I get the impression that he is a man of integrity, without a full explanation, Comey will always be associated with Trump's election victory.
One of the best books I’ve ever read
Calling this book a great read would be an understatement. It really pleases me to know that there are still honourable men and women who are dedicated to doing what is right by the law, regardless of their personal views. This book has inspired me to continue my journey towards being an honourable person and has taught me invaluable lessons about ethical leadership which I hope to be able to implement one day.
Ok but......
Found it a very interesting read if a little self righteous. Really could and should have done more when it was clear Trump wanted him to be “onside”.