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.

Good read, but seemed too political (3.0)

Overall, i liked this book. I would recommend it for Secret Service buffs; however, I found it a bit political. It seemed to me that the author talked wonderfully about Republican presidents and first ladies, families, etc, but did not talk nice about Democratic presidents, first ladies, etc. Talking of the chronic lateness of Bill Clinton for example....I guess I didn't see that this belonged with the topic of the book. But at the same time, the author praised GW Bush and Bush I and both first ladies. This was true with Carter v Reagan, etc. I just can't believe that Repub Presidents are always "nice" and "good" to the Secret Service and Dem Presidents are always "rude" and "mean". I guess this is a small thing...I did enjoy some of the stories and comments the author makes. I do not know the political leanings of the author, but personally I found that he seemed to use this book to attack the left albeit only here and there. Don't get me wrong, it's not a Dem bashing book by any means....this is just an observation on my part.

Insightful (4.0)

Insightful; both for providing an insiders look into the true personalities of our presidents, and also for enlightening the public on the challenges and frustrations of the men and women charged with protecting them.

Review of In the Presidents Secret Service (3.0)

I enjoyed this book. It was a fast read in the manner of newspaper reporting. I am certain the agenda is wanting to be free of Homeland Security. The gossip in this book was a bit low class, and shocking. I expect more of the men guarding the President, however, it is very sad that the men are not allowed to find security in their job as to where they will work and the hours they work. As a nurse I understand their frustration.

GREAT BOOK (5.0)

Lisened to it on audio; could not put it down!

Great Read!

The Emperor has no clothes. (4.0)

Enough has been written about this work in the reviews that are highlighted on the front page of this Amazon subject.

Sure there are lots of National Enquirer types of information that are engaging. I for one do not watch gossip shows, read gossip columns, nor do I read the National Enquirer. Still, some of the insights to these Administrations are certainly intriguing.

LBJ engaging in "open and gross" lewdness in front of the Press? Jimmy Carter refusing to keep the "nuclear football" in close proximity while he Vaca'd in rural Plains? Gerald Ford so cheap that he was tipping porters a lousy buck at posh resorts, or not at all? Oh those Bush twins, denied a normal teenager lifestyle. As if growing up on a 1500 acre ranch is "normal". Amy Carter throwing food on the floor for SS Agents to clean up. The best one was when the Secret Service refused to tote Carter's luggage. They left it in the trunk of his Limo and he had to go 2 days without a fresh suit or underwear. They ought to put that part in the inevitable Hollywood movie.

Throughout the book I found myself wondering..."who finked?" LBJ rejecting a steak because it was too rare and tossing it on the deck of the Air Force One galley. Sure the Navy Stewards take the rap for some of these insights. By inference the screwy behavior of these rascals (and their families) at the helm is to be presumed to be the reports of folks who are not exactly Secret Service agents at all.

The book is still fresh in my mind and maybe I ought to dwell on it more...but...it seems unlikely to me that the author did not have information that came directly from the Agency itself. After reading the book, I for sure cannot accept that the writer made all of this stuff up.

Lots of fun stuff in this book, but seriously, what about those magnetometers? Heck, I don't even know what a magnetometer is or for sure how to spell it.

This book has just opened a can of worms.

I sure hope that the translation into Arabic, Farsi, or any other language is not complete.

It appears that the Secret Service has no clothes, the Presidents are largely imbeciles, their families moreso, the Cabinet ought to be disbanded (some dismembered,) and the media in this country is an abomination full of elbow rubbers who care not a whit for the integrity of their once honorable profession.

It will be a miracle if the current President, or any President to be is not assasinated after what information came out of this work.