A Higher Loyalty. James Comey. 2018. 277 pages

This book gives the reader a very enlightening, informative perspective on recent U.S. politics, from a high profile dedicated Republican insider. I struggled to find any meaningful criticism, but I usually can win that struggle. I was not amused by his conclusion early in the book and apparently early in his life that he could do more to benefit society by becoming a lawyer than as a doctor.

The characterization of many public figures who are household names is interesting, particularly Cheney, Ashton and Mueller, though he says little about Rumsfeld and seems to have blind spot for George W. Bush’s many faults. His comparison of Trump’s modus operandi to that of the Mafia dons he previously prosecuted is particularly apt. The best quote among many good ones is “The most dangerous place in New York is between Rudi Giuliani and a microphone”.

He seemingly adequately explains his reasoning as FBI Director in reopening the investigation into Hilary Clinton’s email usage close to the 2016 election, although I suspect that there is in this and some of his other tough decisions, a bit of post hoc justification. And others have argued that he was influenced by a campaign of Russian disinformation in the first place to override protocol and make public announcements about the email investigations, rather than leaving that decision to the attorney-general, Loretta Lynch.

Now for some negatives that I did manage to dredge up. Like most U.S. authors of nonfiction, he rarely acknowledges that there is a world beyond their borders. He never divulges any personal guiding life philosophy or anchor for his ethics. Is it based on some religious creed, secular humanism or some inborn moral compass without any unifying philosophy of life? Does it matter? Probably not, but It would be of interest to readers to know. His reverence for the U.S. constitution, a deeply flawed document, is common to almost all Americans but is hardly justified in my opinion. He seems to accept without reservation that more and better laws will automatically lead to a better society, a far from obvious relationship. To quote Mr. Bumble in Oliver Twist, “the law is an ass.”

The unfortunate fate of this book is that no hard-line Trump supporter is ever likely to read it.