James Comey: A Higher Loyalty

Comey’s memoir is surprisingly engaging, particularly in the first half of the book. One of the unforgettable stories was the death of his newborn son who was contracted with Group B streptococcus. To prevent this tragic to other mothers, Patrice, Comey’s wife, spoke out about their son and helped get universal testing for Group B strep. The least exciting part of this book is about Trump because we have heard so much of it already. One small detail, however, stood out when Comey recounted the hand-written dinner menu:

“They write these things out one at a time, by hand,” [Trump] marveled, referring to the White House staff.
“A calligrapher,” I replied, nodding.
He looked quizzical. “They write them by hand,” he repeated.

It is not a surprise that Trump doesn’t know what a calligrapher does. I was not planning on reading this book, but I changed my mind after skimming through the author’s note. I like his concise, friendly writing.