“The higher loyalty is to lasting values, most important the truth.” – James Comey

                                    These words by James Comey, which comes half way through the book are what the essence of the book is supposed to be. The tell-all expose of the controversial, former Director of the FBI, is the detailed narration of various ethical dilemmas; he addressed during his life-time and his process of resolving them. The content of the book can be quite simple be summarized as a footnote to the absolutely crazy election of Donald trump and the antics of his administration there-after. Lets be honest there is no need for an exposé on the current administration, they do that aplenty themselves.

                                    James Comey has done irreparable damage to the institution he headed, being called a hack to a tool to being absolutely clueless at times, intervening inadvertently in the 2016 Presidential Election (if the book is to be believed) and leaving the reputation of the FBI in tatters. His one saving grace turned out to be the president himself; who managed to make mismanagement so commonplace that Comey’s charades were but on in a parade of many exuberant ones. His handling of some of the most critical investigations were questionable at the most generous, including Clinton’s emails, Wiener’s wiener and of-course the beloved pee-pee tapes and dossiers.

                                    Keeping this in mind, it is quiet easy to spot the real purpose of this book, rather than an overwhelming urge to expose the truths behind the curtains of power, the book’s purpose is the redemption of its authors reputation and credibility. The contents are a series of apologies and explanations mashed together incoherently to form a semblance of integrity. There is no higher loyalty here, the book is no leadership manual, there is hardly any situation put forward were the founding principles laid forth in the initial pages are deliberated, nor of labored nuanced decisions made. May be its the bits lost due to series of edits and cut courtesy of the intelligence agencies or it is the authors own constraints that leaves this book devoid of content and render it as mere hogwash.

                                    In conclusion; If you have been exposed to the torrent of news, you are already well informed of everything that Comey talks about, all you are missing is him trying an angle on it. I give A Higher Loyalty by James Comey a 2 out of 5.