The author does not discuss the character of the First Families, rather he takes the reader through his Secret Service training to his retirement from the CIA. It's a great behind the scenes revelation-without revealing any secrets. ( )

I found this very interesting as I have always wondered about the people who sign up to be a secret service agent. If you are interested in what is involved with these agents, then read this book. I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it better than reading the printed version. ( )

have mixed feelings about this book. I don't understand the many five star reviews and accolades here. It is certainly an inside look at the Secret Service, but I did not find it particularly insightful. It's just a story of an average agent doing his job for 20 years, burning out, then retiring. He simply does not have a global or strategic view. It's like a description of the inside of a foxhole. The author is obviously not an experienced writer, but most people ought to get over that fact and deal with the subject matter. His description of joining the Service seems like a haphazard affair. He was certainly persistent. After all, he presents this as a lifelong dream job, but the actual mechanics and responses seem completely chaotic. This is not a criticism of the author at all. It is a criticism of the hiring process he describes.

His description of the training courses has me worried. They aren't very long and they don't sound very comprehensive. It sounds like the basic qualification for the CATT team is if you can shoot a gun straight. That's it. I do hope he's leaving a lot of details out to protect their methods of protection. He's also a bit defensive both about his own actions and those of the Service in general, but he perhaps unwittingly confirms what we have been hearing about agents' actions. Many times throughout the book he mentions having "a few beers" after a shift or even waking up with a hangover. I don't know about the rest of you, but having "a few beers" makes me inebriated. "Parties" seem to occur quite often. After reading this book I'm not at all surprised what happened in South America. It appears to be part of the culture. He would have you believe an agent's private life is their own business. Nice theory, but it isn't true. We expect Secret Service agents to be above the fray. I'm not convinced he understands this.

Unlike some of you I detect no bias politically in his writing. He obviously did not care for the attitude of Clinton's young and snooty staff, but he portrayed Clinton himself as very polite, appreciative, and aware of the Secret Service; Hillary, not so much. He certainly was harsher about the office infighting within the Secret Service itself, which sounds like a typical bureaucracy. Overall I enjoyed the read; it was worth it. But this simply is not the "best book" on the Secret Service. It's much too shallow for that, being simply one man's account of his own career.