The History Book Club discussion

This is the thread for the buddy read of the Comey book: A Higher Loyalty - Truth, Lies and Leadership.

by James B. Comey (no photo)



I plan to take my time and will be going on for the next couple of months. I do not have any details on the book length yet other than it is 304 pages - which tells me that if we do about 25 pages a week that two months and a half should be about right for the slowest reader. But since we will be using the spoiler html - anybody can join when they want to without any issues.

All, I do not have my book or audible version yet or the accompanying kindle one and I preordered. Amazon is saying the release date is Monday, April 16, 2018. Sign up here if you plan to participate.

A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership

by James B. Comey (no photo)

Synopsis:

In this book, 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.

James Comey Teases Release Of "A Higher Loyalty"

https://1190talkradio.iheart.com/cont...

Source: NBC News

This is a single thread discussion and on a buddy read since it is even more free flowing than our BOTM reads - where you can only discuss the chapters that are assigned on the non spoiler thread - here we insist that you use the spoiler html in order not to ruin the book for anybody else coming along later - so be careful.

You can copy and paste below to get your spoiler right:

(view spoiler)[Put Text Here (hide spoiler)]

All, we do not have to do citations regarding the book or the author being discussed during the book discussion on these discussion threads - nor do we have to cite any personage in the book being discussed while on the discussion threads related to this book.

However if we discuss folks outside the scope of the book or another book is cited which is not the book and author discussed then we do have to do that citation according to our citation rules. That makes it easier to not disrupt the discussion.

Folks, please let us know if you will be joining in this buddy read. This will be a buddy read begins Monday and you can go at your own pace. Bentley will be leading the discussion. Everyone is welcome. I do not have the book yet to place a table of contents and syllabus.

Kickoff for discussion is Monday - April 16th

I will post more over the weekend in preparation. Since I do not have an arc - I will have to wait for my preorder.

I'll join, please. Amazon says my copy should be here Tuesday.

I will join. Pre-ordered the Nook version and will receive it 4/17.

I do not know - I hope it arrives but we will start when it comes. Hopefully soon next week. Glad that you Lindsay and Gail W are joining in. I am sure that this will be quite something if the clips on the news are on target.

Its on order in the LA County library system. I have a hold on it, but I have no idea how many other holds there are. I could pre order it for the Kindle..... not sure how to go with this.

Well Kindle would work too - this is going to be one of those popular items I think. We are all waiting too so you are fine whatever route you decide. You could mark up the kindle one and highlight etc. Up to you.

Decided to pre-order for Kindle. Half price to pre-order! Will be delivered to my Kindle for Mac on Tuesday.

That is good - I will wait for you - there are no worries - I expected that folks would be getting these at different times - depending on whether it was kindle, hardcover, audible.

By the way - I wish the newscasters and the 24x7 cable guys would let us read the book ourselves without telling us in advance any tidbits.

I checked both my audible account and my kindle account - and the downloads are not coming they say until tomorrow - so I cannot do any set up whatsoever until then. Hopefully, it is downloadable tomorrow and I can get a look at the Table of Contents and go from there with the syllabus.

I will join. I ordered the book and it will arrive on Tuesday.

Did you order the Kindle or the Audible version? Those I surmise will have the Tuesday delivery.

Welcome Helga

I ordered the hardback version of this one.

You may get it later then but it will not matter. This is a buddy read

I'm in the middle of a library copy.

Kressel - make sure that you do not get ahead of where we are and remember no spoilers. I am surprised you have a library copy ahead of the publication date. Be careful here.

Table of Contents

Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Author’s Note
Introduction xii

1. Life - 3
2. This Thing of Ours - 14
3. The Bully - 28
4. Meaning - 40
5. The Easy Lie - 48
6. On the Tracks - 73
7. Confirmation Bias - 99
8. In Hoover’s Shadow - 115
9. The Washington Listen - 138
10. Roadkill - 157
11. Speak of Conceal - 187
12. Trump Tower - 210
13. Tests of Loyalty - 227
14. The Cloud - 247
Epilogue - 274

Acknowledgements
Index
About the Author
Copyright

Folks the ones who ordered audible or kindle - I know the books are in your hands because mine beeped in at 6:30AM this morning.

On this one folks we are using spoiler html straight through - so put your title at the top in bold which is the Chapter and page if you like - Chapter and number would be fine and put whatever you have to say in spoiler html. The book is too new and too popular so we do not want to spoil it for folks who follow us. Normally if you stay with the assigned reading we do not have to use the spoilers but in this case we do because of the above.

For example:

Introduction
(view spoiler)[This is where your comments go (hide spoiler)]

Spoiler html is just like bolding or underlining - the only difference is that instead of a b or a u - you use the word spoiler.

Remember the following:

Everyone is welcome but make sure to use the goodreads spoiler function if you get ahead of the assigned weekly pages.

If you come to the discussion after folks have finished reading it, please feel free to post your comments as we will always come back to the thread to discuss the book.

The rules

You must follow the rules of the History Book Club and also:

First rule of Book of the Month discussions:
Respect other people's opinions, no matter how controversial you think they may be.

Second rule of Book of the Month discussions:
Always, always Chapter/page mark and spoiler alert your posts if you are discussing parts of the book that are ahead of the pages assigned or if you have become expansive it your topics.

To do these spoilers, follows these easy steps:

Step 1. enclose the word spoiler in forward and back arrows; < >

Step 2. write your spoiler comments in

Step 3. enclose the word /spoiler in arrows as above, BUT NOTE the forward slash in front of the word. You must put that forward slash in.

Your spoiler should appear like this:
(view spoiler)

And please mark your spoiler clearly like this:

State a Chapter and page if you can.
EG: Chapter 24, page 154

Or say Up to Chapter *___ (*insert chapter number) if your comment is more broad and not from a single chapter.

Chapter 1, p. 23
(view spoiler)[I know everything now about chapter one and I am going to post it here - oops I better place this in a spoiler alert so I do not ruin the book for others (hide spoiler)]

If you are raising a question/issue for the group about the book, you don't need to put that in a spoiler, but if you are citing something specific, it might be good to use a spoiler.

By using spoilers, you don't ruin the experience of someone who is reading slower or started later or is not reading the assigned pages.

Thanks.

All, we do not have to do citations regarding the book or the author being discussed during the book discussion on these discussion threads - nor do we have to cite any personage in the book being discussed while on the discussion threads related to this book.

However if we discuss folks outside the scope of the book or another book is cited which is not the book and author discussed then we do have to do that citation according to our citation rules. That makes it easier to not disrupt the discussion.

You can copy and paste below to get your spoiler right:

You can copy and paste below to get your spoiler right:

(view spoiler)[Put Text Here (hide spoiler)]

Syllabus and Suggested Reading Schedule:

Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Author’s Note

Week One - April 17th - April 22nd
Introduction xii
1. Life - 3
2. This Thing of Ours - 14

Week Two - April 23rd - April 29th
3. The Bully - 28
4. Meaning - 40

Week Three - April 30th - May 6th
5. The Easy Lie - 48
6. On the Tracks - 73

Week Four - May 7th - May 13th
7. Confirmation Bias - 99
8. In Hoover’s Shadow - 115

Week Five - May 14th - May 20th
9. The Washington Listen - 138
10. Roadkill - 157

Week Six - May 21st - May 27th
11. Speak of Conceal - 187
12. Trump Tower - 210

Week Seven - May 28th - June 3rd
13. Tests of Loyalty - 227
14. The Cloud - 247
Epilogue - 274

Acknowledgements
Index
About the Author
Copyright

All, I know that some of you are going to devour this book - but above is the schedule we will follow. Even though normally - as along as we abide by the schedule - we are not spoiling anything - in this case it is different - since this is a blockbuster book and we are starting on the first day it is out - spoiler html is going to have to be used. Remember spoiler html is a must.

If you get ahead which is fine on the buddy read - you always have to use the spoiler html with the a title in bold indicating what section or chapter you are discussing with your text being in a spoiler bracket. Nobody is late to a buddy read.

And so we begin.

Folks this is this week's assignment:

Week One - April 17th - April 22nd
Introduction xii
1. Life - 3
2. This Thing of Ours - 14

Chapter Overviews and Summaries:

Introduction
(view spoiler)[Here the author introduces the purpose for the book and starts out describing the day and time period that is about to begin - February 2017 (hide spoiler)]

Chapter One - Life
(view spoiler)[The author begins this chapter discussing his experience with the Sicilian Mafia and the chapter opens up in 1922 when Comey was an Assistant US Attorney in New York. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter Two - This Thing of Ours
(view spoiler)[James Comey graduated from law school in 1985 (University of Chicago) and applied to be a Federal Law Clerk in New York. In 1987, he joined the United States Attorney's office working for Rudy Giuliani. Comey takes us through first his early career. (hide spoiler)]

Discussion Topic:

First Off - what are your initial thoughts - place them in spoiler html. Thank you for that in advance.

My Initial Thoughts

(view spoiler)[ James Comey writes extremely well. It is easy reading and some of you are going to fly through this so you need to use spoilers. I like the organization of the book so far and how the chapters are laid out. I like also the quotes he uses at the beginning of each chapter which are quite apropos. I did not know that he had started out working for Rudy Giuliani - so you learn something new every day. (hide spoiler)]

Set up was a bit rushed but we are ready to go.

There were a few quotes used by other people which I will not have to put into spoiler html. But the responses would need to be. I found them interesting choices:

Discussion Questions:

Here are the quotes that were used in the Introduction, Chapter One - Life and Chapter Two - This Thing of Ours - what do you feel is the significance of Comey utilizing these quotes for those specific segments of his book? Please respond using spoilers - this book just came out today and we do not want to ruin it for folks who are just starting out or who have not gotten their book yet.

1. To not think of dying, is to not think of living -- Jann Ardern

2. Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary -- Reinhold Niebuhr

3. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer -- Al Pacino (As Michael Corleone), The Godfather, Part II

Folks, also please introduce yourself as we kick off the buddy read - just tell who you are, where you are from - city/state or country and why this book has interested you?

My name is Bentley and I am the Group Founder and leader of the HBC. Welcome to the buddy read. We kicked off today because at 6:30AM - I was pinged that the book was released and my copy was waiting for me (lol). That was my wake up call!

I immediately got up and kicked off quickly the buddy read we have been waiting for.

We will have to use spoilers for the obvious reasons on this one - it is a single thread - people are still getting their books and we do not want to ruin it for anybody who is still waiting for their library copy which may take them awhile.

So let us be courteous and respectful of everybody's varying circumstances.

In the meantime - I admit that I jumped right into this week's reading - I had no choice as a moderator. And I posted my initial impressions which I would love to hear from you about and I placed my initial impressions in spoiler html above. It is in another posting.

I am reading this book because I believe that Comey is telling the truth in terms of the Congressional hearing.

I wanted to hear more. I think from watching Comey that he has in the past made some errors which I think cost Clinton the election along with the Russians trolling facebook and other social media stirring the pot with fake news.

But Comey did do something at the time which seemed extraordinary to me; but at the time I considered it to be a grave error.

I still do not understand why he made that announcement without making the similar announcement that her opponent had other issues that they were looking into. The American people might have just thrown their hands up in disgust; but at least there would have been a level playing field.

Comey stated at the time that he had no choice - I am not sure how I feel about that explanation; but I do believe that as far as Comey himself is concerned - that "he believes" that he did the only thing that could be done even though it made him a polarizing figure which I think he still is today.

I also believe that President and then candidate Trump did everything that Comey and McCabe said he did - we have heard so much already in Trump's own words. If you do not believe the man himself (President Trump) when he talks and admits to the world this or that about his personal feelings or inclinations - then I think we might be living in a 1984 dystopian world right now.

President Trump believes that he is untouchable and that he can do or say whatever he wants about whoever he wants whenever he wants. You only have to read his tweets.

He does not have any boundaries and because of my suspicions that his denials are as false as what he purports his crowd size was on Inauguration Day - I wanted to hear everything Comey had to say (smile)

I would also like to hear what Robert Mueller has to say whatever that is and whenever his report is complete. We have already heard from the President multiple times.

So I am reading this book to "get more information than I had before".

But I think it is only the first step in my reading and listening to as much as I can "from all sides" to be able to better "reflect where we are as a country" and understand why we are enduring daily scandals, firings, threats of firings and total chaos and upheaval.

I cannot remember in my lifetime no matter who was in the executive office or what party - such disregard for our values, our institutions, our Constitution and our laws. I have voted for many Republicans and Democrats in my lifetime so I want to be forthright so as not to be guilty of "pulling" a Hannity in relation to his lawyer Cohen (lol). Which is by the way just another example of what we are living through.

I hope we gain some more facts that we can discuss as we move forward and we are able to bring some sanity to the insanity of the past couple of years and I include the campaign in that as well.

I purposely made sure that there were no spoilers in my introduction and welcome so I did not have to use spoiler html. If you discuss first impressions of the book - that has to be in spoiler html.

Welcome all.

Bentley wrote: "You may get it later then but it will not matter. This is a buddy read"

I got it today. Am anxious to start.

Great just introduce yourself and that will be a start indicating
where you are from and why are you interested in the book. Of course I know you Helga (smile)

First impressions or comments on the quotes should be in spoiler html which is easy enough to do with a header.

Hi I'm Helga from SC. I love to read alot. I'm really interested in history and right now current events. The book about Comey interested me right away. I want to read it because I believe what he has to say is truthful unlike Trump who lies about everything. My opinion of Comey is of an honorable man overall. He might have made an error in judgment a few times but I believe him to be a man that follows the law and has integrity. I have followed the news pretty closely on his firing and what led up to it and the Congressional hearing. I hope to get his views and his story from this book in detail and not just little snippets.

HI, I am Michele, from Southern Calif. The book just hit my Kindle today and I've made it to page 15.

I love to read and really wanted to read this book in a timely fashion unlike my read of the HC book. I have similar feelings as Helga about Comey and was interested in his version of certain events.

Hi there! Bonjour! I'm Jen, from Quebec, Canada. I wanted to read this book for a few reasons- one of which, I won't lie- is because I don't think that Trump WANTS people to read it!

All jokes aside, I am reading for 2 main reasons: (1) I am a high school teacher. Among the many subjects that I teach is the MANDATORY/COMPULSORY course in ETHICS. (This *used* to be 'moral and religious education', or MRE; but due to sensitivities about the 'religious' aspect of the course, it is now simply, ETHICS. Students across Quebec are required to get this credit to get their diploma).
In this course, I feel required to 'be up to date' with the goings on of the world, and as so much of our discussions center around world politics/current events, I felt I would be doing my students a disservice by not reading this book. It is already on the radar of many of my students, as I also run the school's Book Club, and I have a line up of teens eager to read it when I am finished.

(2) Simply put, I CRAVE MORE UNDERSTANDING of just what, exactly, happened/is happening in the government of the United States. Sometimes there is so much information to sort through that the important things are lost or not found. I think a book like this one (or one like 'Fire and Fury'- I am 65% finished with that one, and I also read 'UnBelievable' by Katy Tur) are vital in that they are a bound, concise source of valuable information...well, hopefully, at least!

Sorry to ramble on like that. I am actually doing this 'read' via an Audible audio copy of the book, and Comey reads it himself. I am very much looking forward to 'meeting' everyone here, and I hope that it is OK that I just barged in on your buddy read! ---Jen from Quebec :0)

Everybody is Welcome Jennifer - you are very welcome from Canada.

Michelle - glad to have you with us again from Southern California.

Helga - welcome from SC

Hello everyone! I'm Lindsay, from Pennsylvania. There are several reasons I had my eye on this book:

1) I'm an attorney, so I'm interested in the legal intricacies. I've been staying away from summaries and news discussions, and I know that the real draw of the book is the dirt on Trump, but I'm also interested in the path of Comey's early career and his various obligations to different organizations and individuals.

2) I'm a central Pennsylvanian, and we're one of the states that "made" Trump the President. While Pittsburgh, Philly, and Harrisburg are mostly blue, the rest of the state is pretty red, and I live in a particularly deep red pocket. I'm a Democrat, but I'm also a small town lawyer and it would hurt me on a very practical level to argue with my clients over politics (or even mention my political affiliation, honestly - already enough of a hurdle being a "female lawyer"). I've heard the arguments of the rural, blue collar workers that make up my client base, and they have some valid concerns. But now I'm shamelessly looking for material closer to my own point of view.

3) And, lastly, I'm a Millennial. ("Millennials are killing [pick your topic]," apparently I'm quite the murder). One of the things I heard a lot from other Democrats after 2016 was "if your generation had only voted." Except I did vote. I stood in a polling line with my 11 month old son on my hip for close to an hour to vote. And all of my friends, my classmates, my colleagues who are my age voted. I'm looking forward to a more in depth discussion of the factors that swung this election other than "you guys didn't vote."

Welcome Lindsay from one of the key states for many reasons. I think that you will get out of the book more information on the author for sure.

You are right - it never does any good to argue with anyone over politics and religion - they both are very emotional and core to the other person's values, outlook and many times upbringing and it can be based upon financial opportunities or the lack thereof.

There are so many folks who assume that somebody else will vote the same way as they would have and stayed home or left their duty to somebody else. It is hard to believe the paltry number of folks which made the difference in the electoral college.

And as bad as things were with the Russians and with Cambridge Analytica and with Comey's announcement - Clinton never had spent the time she should have in those states. Maybe that would have made the difference - but we will never know.

I think there were many factors - but at the end of the day - the people voted for someone who they did not admire but they felt was a better choice than Clinton in those red areas that carried it for him.

Clinton had millions more of the popular vote; but that is not how you win a presidency in this country. And the electoral college controlled the presidency after of course Russia controlled facebook social media and spawned fake news which helped pave the way.

Comey (no matter how you slice it) had his effect and manipulated the election (without meaning to do so) - just enough with his announcement - to push her out of the White House.

I think he made the difference with everything else going on. So do not feel bad - they are preaching to the choir. It has been a long year - I will say that much. Let us hope we gain some additional information in the book itself.

First thoughts

(view spoiler)[ I like the writing stye and I think it will be useful to learn about Comey's life and how he got to FBI director. I was a bit surprised to learn that Comey worked under Giuliani. Comey showed us that the seeds of Giuliani's fall were there, from the beginning. (hide spoiler)]

Michelle of course I will not be specific if I do not use the spoiler html but the same things surprised me too.

Hey, fellow New Yorkers! Comey is at the Union Square Barnes and Noble tonight at 7 pm.

Wow wish I could be there now. Thanks - are you near?

Lucky you Kressel.

Michele I was surprised about that too.

Guess what? I didn't even get in. The people started lining up at 9 am, and all the tickets were given out by 2. I didn't have a chance, showing up after work.