A Higher Loyalty

By: James Comey

Narrated by: James Comey

Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's Summary

In his audiobook, A Higher Loyalty, 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 US attorney for the Southern District of New York and the US 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 and overseeing the Hillary Clinton email 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.  

©2018 James Comey (P)2018 Macmillan Audio

Audible Removed My Review!

Why?!?
During this most fractious of times that we are part of, I made it a point to be as unbiased in my review as possible. I was rather inspired by Comey himself as, after listening to A Higher Loyalty, one gets the sense that he's done his best to live and work by the law rather than by party lines.
I'd thought the book was going to be bashing only, but it turned out to be more about his life and the work and service he's performed. From Martha Stewart to Scooter Libby. From surveillance and torture to emails.
I didn't even bash Trump in my review but stuck to the fact that the book is not a tell-all slam fest of the man but does cover him in the last few chapters.
So jeez, Audible, relax...!
And to everyone else: I can't recommend it enough: humor and pathos, dignity and candidness. This book is truly a breath of fresh air.

174 of 215 people found this review helpful

Thank you for your service James Comey

I bought this book because I wanted to understand and hear James Comey , and what happened. For me I got that and more. It was for me a real inside look on what goes on behind the scenes and how difficult decisions and jobs are within our government and their agencies. I also clearly understand why James Comey needed to do what he did with Hillary Clinton‘s emails. James Comey you did the right thing. All the challenging things that you faced.... you did the right thing. I didn’t think so at the time. And you made the only decision that you could’ve. Thank you again for your service & and for your honesty. TW

10 of 13 people found this review helpful

Excellent audio book, not JUST headlines

If you could sum up A Higher Loyalty in three words, what would they be?

Surprising good book.

No, it's not just the stuff you saw on the news, but the back story behind a man's entire life.

Yes, you will hear all the other interesting details that you saw in the television interviews and in the media hype BUT you also get to hear about a normal kid, a regular guy, and how he got there in the first place. Even if Comey never had become the Director of the F.B.I., he still would have had a fascinating life.

Any additional comments?

This book is a keeper. And Comey himself is a very good narrator as well.

67 of 93 people found this review helpful

From another in Justice

There is a big difference between rating Comey's actions over the past year and rating a book.

This book starts very strong, with a gripping near death experience and an inside view to the mafia, and it never really let's up. The over arching theme, the importance of Truth in leadership and justice, is predictable but very applicable to this part biography part contemporary commentary. If you are interested in studying leadership or justice, this book is for you.

The performance of the narrator in reading (Jim himself) hits very hard. It makes the personal perspective so much more tangible.

A reader might be upset at Comey's decisions to announce the reopening of the email case or his comments on the President. Another reader might imagine that leader that chaffes both sides of the eisle might embody the true non partisan objectivity that Justice requires. It does not matter. What matters is the book, by itself, delivers substantial, well thought commentary on leadership and integrity, and on its own, it is excellent.

30 of 43 people found this review helpful

A Man of Integrity, Love and Righteousness.

The beginning of the book really hooks you in. You get a sense of James Comey's character. His childhood, his reasons for studying law and one of his first high profile cases of a Mobster that foreshadows the rest of the book. I learned a lot about the man himself and his love for his country. His morals stand the high ground while Trump uses twitter at the low ground to convince people not even to pick up the book in the first place. It's a huge eye opener and even tho I don't agree with all Comey did in the past, I know he is a man of integrity and love. Something another man wouldn't understand.

54 of 80 people found this review helpful

James Comey, a mult-faceted paragon of integrity

What made the experience of listening to A Higher Loyalty the most enjoyable?

Listening to James Comey recount his earliest encounter with an armed assailant and feeling as if, in that moment, he were going to die.

Who was your favorite character and why?

James Comey: his character is deeply complex and his views on morality and integrity are clearly conveyed.

Which character – as performed by James Comey – was your favorite?

Comey expounds well upon the formation of his moral framework and how at the end of his life he will judge his integrity by the feelings derived from his actions. Moreover, James claims that fame, status, and public-validation are not paramount to him. Rather, he values the pursuit of justice, assisting the disempowered, leading by example, and remaining loyal to the virtues of one's moral fabric.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me reconsider who James Comey really is. I can now analyze his actions by his own moral deductions and calculations. It allows one to see precisely why he acted as he did (at least from his perspective).

Any additional comments?

I recommend this book if you want to understand the perspective of James Comey. It provides the necessary information for one to come to their own conclusion on the controversial, former FBI director.

53 of 80 people found this review helpful

Not What You're Expecting

After my experience with Fire and Fury, I wasn't sure if I would regret purchasing James Comey's much-anticipated book. I don't. The issue I had with Michael Woolf's book was simply that there were no surprises by the time the cable news networks had done their interviews and discussions. There are no Trump bombshells in Comey's book that haven't also been made public in his testimony or his interview with George Stephanopoulos--but the 2016 election and the Trump presidency make up only the last 20-25% of the book, and the rest is very interesting indeed. A Higher Loyalty is an honest memoir, one that looks back at the events and individuals that shaped the former FBI Director's character and values and his concept of what makes a good leader.

In addressing his childhood, Comey talks about a devastating move from a familiar school and neighborhood (his grandfather had been the local police commissioner) where he had been one of the popular kinds to another where he suffered bullying. He tells us about a terrifying incident when, as a teenager, he and his brother were held at gunpoint by a home invader later identified as a serial rapist. He recounts some stupid mistakes he made as a grocery stockboy, and of the owner, a man whose example gave him some important lessons in what makes a good leader. Later, we see him discovering the work of Reinhold Niebuhr in a college religion class. (You may have seen Comey's tweets under Neibuhr's name, many of them using the theologist's own words.) He gives us insights into his long marriage to a supportive wife and their tragic loss of an infant son. Along the way, he remembers teachers, colleagues, and others who set an example for the man he hoped to become.

And, of course, there is his long and fascinating career. After a stint as law clerk to a federal judge in Manhattan and a short stint with a private law firm, Comey joined the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York--the same office currently investigating Michael Cohen, President Trump's "fixer." One of the cases he worked on was the Gambino crime family prosecution, and he has a lot of intriguing stories to tell about that experience. He was deputy special counsel to the Whitewater investigation--his first run-in with Hillary Clinton--and, as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, investigated President Clinton's pardon of fugitive Marc Rich, a Clinton campaign contributor facing federal charges of violating trade sanctions against Iran. I had no idea that Comey was the lead prosecutor in the case against Martha Stewart. His discussion of the case and the dilemmas he faced are a fine example of the way he uses his legal experiences to demonstrate his sense of ethics. Years earlier, he had upheld the conviction of a young black assistant pastor who had lied to the FBI in attempting to protect his mentor. If this man served time for his crime, why should Martha Stewart be shown leniency for the same crime and others?

Comey's first headlong plunge into Washington politics came when he opposed the Bush regime's extension of the NSA's domestic wiretapping program, which had been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The story of his visit to John Ashcroft's hospital bedside, accompanied by three trusted colleagues, including then-FBI Director Robert Mueller. They persuaded Ashcroft, the Attorney General, to uphold the discontinuation of the wiretaps, thwarting the wishes of President Bush, Vice President Cheney, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, and White House Counsel Alberto Gonzalez. This was not Comey's last run-in with these politicos and others, including Condoleeza Rice. He opposed the interrogation procedures--waterboarding, sleep deprivation, humiliation, etc.--as forms of both physical and mental torture, and he was involved in the investigation of Scooter Libby for lying to the FBI, obstructing justice, and outing CIA agent Valerie Plame. (Is it possible this is yet another reason, in addition to sending a message to cronies under investigation, for Trump's recent pardon of Libby?) Again and again, he stands up for his belief that members of the Justice Department, once appointed, must work independently and not be steered by the Executive Office. He addresses the criticism he received for appearing sympathetic to the concerns of Black Lives Matters and recounts his efforts to increase the percentage of minority personnel working for the FBI, encouraging employees to recruit talented people by telling them about the opportunities the department offers and by "finding joy" in their own work.

And there are the last few years: the issue of Hillary Clinton's private server and lost emails, the concerns about Russian meddling in the 2016 election, and the exchanges with Trump that resulted in Comey's firing. Comey is nothing if not honest about his personal faults and the mistakes he has made, but he attempts to explain the internal conflicts he faced and the rationale behind his decisions. You may not agree with him, but you can't help but agree that he thought he was doing his job to the best of his ability, holding fast to the truth he still believes will set us all free and following the example of his lifelong mentors. (Once his book tour is over, he will be returning to the classroom, teaching courses in effective and ethical leadership.)

I listened to this book on audio and recommend it in that format. Comey is a good writer and a very good reader, and hearing him tell his own story adds credence to it. I enjoyed A Higher Loyalty not as an exposé or even a self-justification, but simply as the story of one man's life and its challenges. I only wish I shared his optimism about our country's future. He ends with a metaphor: when forest fires burn themselves out, there is room for more and better things to emerge from the scorched earth, resulting in a forest that is even stronger than before.

10 of 15 people found this review helpful

It's very hard to review this book objectively....

Given its subject matter, most of us have likely already have an opinion on the subject already.

If you came here for a book on leadership principles with something new to say, keep walking. There's nothing revelatory here.

If you came here - as I'm sure most did - with a hope for new details on Trump or the HRC email scandal, you might find a little nugget here and there in the second half.

Comey attempts from the very beginning to build a case for himself that bolsters his reasons for acting as he did, leading up to the election, trying to put you in his shoes and share his values.

In that aspect, it actually worked a bit. I came to the book with a bit of a scornful attitude towards him and I leave with a surprising amount of sympathy for the rock-and-hard-place conditions he faced in October of 2016.

But overall this book has nothing particularly spectacular to share. Pundits on both sides crying out about salacious details are mostly inflating the importance of their out-of-context excerpts to sell airtime.

8 of 12 people found this review helpful

Integrity

If you want to learn about life lessons, this is where you should start. It’s more than what I expected, I’m truly happy to have spent my Tuesday with this audiobook.

26 of 40 people found this review helpful

Comey's Audio Book is Dazzling, Engaging, Honest

What made the experience of listening to A Higher Loyalty the most enjoyable?

The author telling his own story makes this a profound listening experience. Regardless of my political opinions I found his life story compelling. His words, his experiences, his views and his insights make this an amazing listen.

Who was your favorite character and why?

James Comey has a theatrical character and gives voice to all those he is talking about.

Have you listened to any of James Comey’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first time I've listened to this author.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me worry for the future of our country, but glad Comey is telling his side of the story.

Any additional comments?

James Comey original vocation was law enforcement, he now can add author and speaker to that list of vocations. I'm glad I got to know this guy from Allendale New Jersey by way of this book and audio book. He's a bit conservative but that is irrelevant to the story he has to tell. This audio book is a dazzling array of life experiences with a nary a miss of details that jump from the spoken word to real life experiences with the drama, intrigue that engages the listener.

33 of 53 people found this review helpful