- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY); First Edition First Printing edition (4 Aug 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0307461351
- ISBN-13: 978-0307461353
- Product Dimensions: 16.2 x 2.6 x 24.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 389,827 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
In the President's Secret Service
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Product Description
Product Description
Never before has a journalist penetrated the wall of secrecy that surrounds the U.S. Secret Service, that elite corps of agents who pledge to take a bullet to protect the president and his family. After conducting exclusive interviews with more than one hundred current and former Secret Service agents, bestselling author and award-winning reporter Ronald Kessler reveals their secrets for the first time.
Secret Service agents, acting as human surveillance cameras, observe everything that goes on behind the scenes in the president’s inner circle. Kessler reveals what they have seen, providing startling, previously untold stories about the presidents, from John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson to George W. Bush and Barack Obama, as well as about their families, Cabinet officers, and White House aides.
Kessler portrays the dangers that agents face and how they carry out their missions–from how they are trained to how they spot and assess potential threats. With fly-on-the-wall perspective, he captures the drama and tension that characterize agents’ lives.
In this headline-grabbing book, Kessler discloses assassination attempts that have never before been revealed. He shares inside accounts of past assaults that have put the Secret Service to the test, including a heroic gun battle that took down the would-be assassins of Harry S. Truman, the devastating day that John F. Kennedy was killed in Dallas, and the swift actions that saved Ronald Reagan after he was shot.
While Secret Service agents are brave and dedicated, Kessler exposes how Secret Service management in recent years has betrayed its mission by cutting corners, risking the assassination of President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and their families. Given the lax standards, “It’s a miracle we have not had a successful assassination,” a current agent says.
Since an assassination jeopardizes democracy itself, few agencies are as important as the Secret Service–nor is any other subject as tantalizing as the inner sanctum of the White House. Only tight-lipped Secret Service agents know the real story, and Ronald Kessler is the only journalist to have won their trust.
Secret Service agents, acting as human surveillance cameras, observe everything that goes on behind the scenes in the president’s inner circle. Kessler reveals what they have seen, providing startling, previously untold stories about the presidents, from John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson to George W. Bush and Barack Obama, as well as about their families, Cabinet officers, and White House aides.
Kessler portrays the dangers that agents face and how they carry out their missions–from how they are trained to how they spot and assess potential threats. With fly-on-the-wall perspective, he captures the drama and tension that characterize agents’ lives.
In this headline-grabbing book, Kessler discloses assassination attempts that have never before been revealed. He shares inside accounts of past assaults that have put the Secret Service to the test, including a heroic gun battle that took down the would-be assassins of Harry S. Truman, the devastating day that John F. Kennedy was killed in Dallas, and the swift actions that saved Ronald Reagan after he was shot.
While Secret Service agents are brave and dedicated, Kessler exposes how Secret Service management in recent years has betrayed its mission by cutting corners, risking the assassination of President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and their families. Given the lax standards, “It’s a miracle we have not had a successful assassination,” a current agent says.
Since an assassination jeopardizes democracy itself, few agencies are as important as the Secret Service–nor is any other subject as tantalizing as the inner sanctum of the White House. Only tight-lipped Secret Service agents know the real story, and Ronald Kessler is the only journalist to have won their trust.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Four and a half INFORMATIVE Stars!! Loaded with historical data, inside stories, and trivia that is very informative and in some cases very personal, this book ultimately delivers an overview of the history of the Secret Service from early presidential administrations right up to the 21st Century status of the Secret Service that is somewhat troubling. Beyond that we get tidbits of confirming gossip on people such as JFK, LBJ, Ted Agnew, and others that are extremely unflattering and revelatory. There is more on recent and current presidents, families, and staff that will titillate those who want inside stories, however brief. There is some information that is also laugh-out-loud funny.
The author says early 'pre-Secret Service' political attitudes toward presidential protection probably got 3 presidents shot before the era of heavy protection arrived. Heavy presidential protection was added almost as an "after thought" to the crime-busting dutieis of the Secret Service following those 3 incidents. Then came the advent of service refinements, such as the White House Police. The author covers a number of revelations about well-known events such as: the "biggest gunfight in Secret Service history", more information on what happened before, during, and after the JFK assassination, the "Fiddle & Faddle"threesome mistresses, the midnight peacock, and so on, right up the Obama administration which the author says is more of a challenge than the others for one particular somber reason. This is an eye-opening, unforgettable look at the Secret Service that, while not definitive, certainly extends the Secret Service body of literature. Highly Recommended. Four and a half RIVETING Stars!!
The author says early 'pre-Secret Service' political attitudes toward presidential protection probably got 3 presidents shot before the era of heavy protection arrived. Heavy presidential protection was added almost as an "after thought" to the crime-busting dutieis of the Secret Service following those 3 incidents. Then came the advent of service refinements, such as the White House Police. The author covers a number of revelations about well-known events such as: the "biggest gunfight in Secret Service history", more information on what happened before, during, and after the JFK assassination, the "Fiddle & Faddle"threesome mistresses, the midnight peacock, and so on, right up the Obama administration which the author says is more of a challenge than the others for one particular somber reason. This is an eye-opening, unforgettable look at the Secret Service that, while not definitive, certainly extends the Secret Service body of literature. Highly Recommended. Four and a half RIVETING Stars!!
Format:Kindle Edition
I bought this for my Kindle whilst on a late night train journey; after a chapter or so I wished I'd just counted stations instead. The writing is pedestrian to the point of being unreadable. Some of the 'facts' aren't borne out by any reputable historian I've read; I wouldn't know if it's all inaccurate, but if you're convinced some of it is it rather undermines the rest. Definitely one to avoid.
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
It took me a long time to read this book as I kept putting it to one side when I reached a boring bit about budgets or training. What I really enjoyed were the stories about what the presidents and their families were like. I think everyone probably knows something about John Kennedy and Nixon but how interesting to learn that Carter carried an empty bag and got into the office really early only to go to sleep again, and interesting to find that the Bush family were some of the nicest.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good insight into the US SS
The best way to describe this book is that it's a good book to take on holiday (which is where I read it). Read more
Published 15 months ago by feersum_endjinn
Informing, Entertaining, Disturbing...But With A Grain of Salt
"In The President's Secret Service" is history, gossip and public affairs commentary that is informative, entertaining and disturbing. Read more
Published 16 months ago by James Gallen
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