Compromised by Peter Strzok

Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump by Peter Strzok
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is particularly interesting in the beginning where the cases are concluded and public. But the portion regarding Trump rehashes public and well-known information (especially well-known to me, having read the entire Mueller report) and hinting at additional but still secret information regarding Trump. This is more frustrating than enlightening.

Also, though I am certain Strzok tried his utmost to be fair in a bipartisan way in his investigations, he seems blind to his own soft-touch misogyny regarding Hillary Clinton. The poor IT guy illegally deleting information just got caught in partisan crosshairs. The male leaders at the FBI are heroic. What about the woman who rose the highest in US politics? Well her hyper-competence made her dislikable and suspicious. Her email server mistake was not illegal but extremely careless and meriting termination in another government job even though ultimately her emails were safer than the hacked state department servers. And isn’t that just an ironic laugh riot? Like rain on your wedding day? No, Strzok, it’s not funny. Why don’t you all take responsibility for the horrors the FBI’s poor decision-making and underlying misogyny have visited on the entire country? You know who else grilled Hillary Clinton for her “disqualifying” extreme carelessness? Matt Lauer. Sit with that company for a while.

But the book does get better when he explains the horrors of what happened to him and his family as the results of Trump's vindicativeness and undemocratic means.

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 “I had lived through four revolutions on three continents. Whether in Iran, West Africa, or Haiti, all shared common characteristics, and all taught me lessons about dictators and authoritarians and their hunger to consolidate power and obtain, or at least convey legitimacy. That quest for legitimacy played out in a host of ways. One was the desire to manipulate, control, or discredit media. A relentless distortion of reality numbs a country’s populace to outrage and weakens its ability to discern truth from fiction. Another way dictators sought to secure power and legitimacy was by co-opting the power of the state, its military, law enforcement, and judicial systems, to carry out personal goals and vendettas rather than the nation’s needs. Still, another was by undermining dissent, questioning the validity of opposition, and refusing to honor public will, up to and including threatening or preventing the peaceful transfer of power.”

Russian Roulette by Michael Isikoff, David Corn

Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump by Michael Isikoff, David Corn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Why did this happen?: "... Putin’s larger strategic vision: [is to] 'to destroy NATO, destroy the European Union, and seriously harm the United States.'" Putin successfully harmed the US, not (just) because of who won the Presidential election, but because he successfully destabilized our democracy and the democratic process and sewed distrust and division throughout the US population.

How did this happen? Who is responsible? The Obama White House is to blame for not disclosing that our election system was under attack until too late. Who else? The news media sought profitable salacious Trump stories, and also reported on hacked Democratic emails, instead of focusing on the incredible Russian hacks. Also, there was FBI Director Comey- who I don't think made his bad decisions because of partisan reasons but still made phenomenally bad choices, at did so least two different times. There is plenty of blame left for Republican Congress members that didn't speak out against Russian election interference for purely partisan reasons, and basically handed our democracy to Russia in 2016, but also going forward.

President Trump himself has stated on numerous occasions that he believes the word of Putin, an enemy of democracy who frequently orders the murder of his opposition, over the US Intelligence Agencies' unanimous agreement of Russian interference in our elections. That makes him an accessory-after-the-fact whether or not he colluded with Russia before the election.

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A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership by James Comey

A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership by James Comey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a book that every American should read in order to consider the difference between the American values we should all honor, and partisan politics. Comey makes a clear case that integrity and honesty should be our most dearly held values and I agree with that because the inverse-corruption and dishonesty- are effective tools of oppression.

This is not a Republican book or a Democratic book. This is an interesting look at how challenging it is to separate oneself from the quagmire of American partisan politics, and how important that separation can be, especially in law enforcement.

Most of all, this book is very well-written, very entertaining, and very educational.

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March: Book Three by John Lewis

March: Book Three by John Lewis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a phenomenal book and a phenomenal series. This should definitely be required reading in high school. Understanding civil rights history is critical to understanding so many problems with current day American democracy, and for those that don't already understand it couldn't be clearer than this.

But even for people who do understand it, this is a really moving and powerful account.

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March: Book Two by John Lewis

March: Book Two by John Lewis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Better than March 1. It's an extremely powerful account of the Freedom Rides and goes all the way to the March on Washington. It works well as a stand-alone book. It should definitely be required reading in American History classes.

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