Former FBI Director James B. Comey’s forthcoming book “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership” won’t be published until Tuesday, but it is currently No. 1 among all books at Amazon and in three significant genre categories.
Mr. Comey’s book has bested such popular offerings on the top-10 list as “Fascism: A Warning” by Madeleine Albright; “12 Rules for Life: An antidote to Chaos” by Jordan B. Peterson; and “Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump” by Michael Isikoff and David Corn.
Barnes and Noble also has the Comey book at No. 1, while the author himself had trended high on Twitter for several days.
“James Comey’s book tour hasn’t even started, and it’s already becoming ground zero in the political and media war over President Trump,” wrote Fox News media analyst Howard Kurtz, who predicts the book tour will be a “media love fest,” that embraces Mr. Comey’s narrative.
“One thing is clear: The man will sell plenty of books,” Mr. Kurtz said.
Indeed, the news media has launched into what appears to be a standard protocol for select authors providing breathless but strategic leaks of the book’s content, news of Mr. Comey’s national tour and media appearances, plus assorted op-eds, instant reviews and personal profiles.
Michael Wolff, author of “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” had a similar experience when his expose was released in January and rocketed to the top slot at Amazon well before it was published.
Meanwhile, there’s some pushback.
“As former FBI Director James Comey prepares for the release of his new book coupled with a media blitz beginning Sunday, the Republican National Committee has prepared an aggressive response to discredit him,” reported ABC News, which obtained a set of GOP talking points on the plan — and will air the first broadcast interview with the author on Sunday.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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