Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service
- Downloads：3660
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-20 00:19:10
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Carol Leonnig
- ISBN：B08M4DY3QW
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
20 hours， 26 minutes
The first definitive account of the rise and fall of the Secret Service， from the Kennedy assassination to the ongoing scandals under Obama and Trump--by Pulitzer Prize winner and #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of A Very Stable Genius
Carol Leonnig has been covering the Secret Service for The Washington Post for most of the last decade， bringing to light the gaffes and scandals that plague the agency today--from a toxic work culture to outdated equipment and training to the deep resentment among the ranks with the agency's leadership。 But the Secret Service wasn't always so troubled。
The Secret Service was born in 1865， in the wake of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln， but its story begins in earnest in 1963， with the death of John F。 Kennedy。 Shocked into reform by their failure to protect the president on that fateful day， this once-sleepy agency was rapidly transformed into a proud， elite unit that would finally redeem themselves in 1981 by valiantly thwarting an assassination attempt against Ronald Reagan。 But this reputation for courage and efficiency would not last forever。 By Barack Obama's presidency， the Secret Service was becoming notorious for break-ins at the White House， an armed gunman firing at the building while agents stood by， a massive prostitution scandal in Cartagena， and many other dangerous lapses。
To expose the these shortcomings， Leonnig interviewed countless current and former agents who risked their careers to speak out about an agency that's broken and in desperate need of a reform。
The first definitive account of the rise and fall of the Secret Service， from the Kennedy assassination to the ongoing scandals under Obama and Trump--by Pulitzer Prize winner and #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of A Very Stable Genius
Carol Leonnig has been covering the Secret Service for The Washington Post for most of the last decade， bringing to light the gaffes and scandals that plague the agency today--from a toxic work culture to outdated equipment and training to the deep resentment among the ranks with the agency's leadership。 But the Secret Service wasn't always so troubled。
The Secret Service was born in 1865， in the wake of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln， but its story begins in earnest in 1963， with the death of John F。 Kennedy。 Shocked into reform by their failure to protect the president on that fateful day， this once-sleepy agency was rapidly transformed into a proud， elite unit that would finally redeem themselves in 1981 by valiantly thwarting an assassination attempt against Ronald Reagan。 But this reputation for courage and efficiency would not last forever。 By Barack Obama's presidency， the Secret Service was becoming notorious for break-ins at the White House， an armed gunman firing at the building while agents stood by， a massive prostitution scandal in Cartagena， and many other dangerous lapses。
To expose the these shortcomings， Leonnig interviewed countless current and former agents who risked their careers to speak out about an agency that's broken and in desperate need of a reform。
Reviews
Linda Galella
，
Investigative Reporting Takes A DetourI haveappreciated other books by Carol Leonnig because she reports fairly and mostly without personal bias。 That’s not my opinion of this effort， “Zero Fail”。Beginning with her information on Kennedy， it does not agree with what I have come to understand is the most accepted information regarding his relationship with his Secret Service detail。 Opinions do differ and information does change over the years， but her facts aren’t ringing true for me。Johnson， Ni Investigative Reporting Takes A DetourI haveappreciated other books by Carol Leonnig because she reports fairly and mostly without personal bias。 That’s not my opinion of this effort， “Zero Fail”。Beginning with her information on Kennedy， it does not agree with what I have come to understand is the most accepted information regarding his relationship with his Secret Service detail。 Opinions do differ and information does change over the years， but her facts aren’t ringing true for me。Johnson， Nixon， Regan， Carter， Bush - these presidents all had their own special needs for Secret Service intervention， （some much more than others！）， and the book is historical and anecdotal in its reporting of the evolution of this organization。 I’d forgotten some of the incidents even tho’ I’ve lived thru them all。 During these years there’s lots of growing and changing pains for the organization as the country does the same but there’s also an air of decorum and pride。 Enter Clinton。Changes in the Secret Service during Clinton’s presidency are shocking， much like he was。 It became a boys club， a frat house that traveled internationally; a national embarrassment。 Quite frankly， based on information provided to Leonnig， I cannot imagine why anyone wants to serve in this thankless capacity。Bushes and Obama are slightly better but not by much。 9/11 is a significant drain on the organization and the economic down turn withholds much needed resources and technology upgrades for years。 There are an host of events to read about in these chapters that had me cringing。Leonnig is able to report all of these issues from both Republican and Democratic presidents and remain neutral until she reaches the last chapter on Trump。 All professional distance disappears。 It’s like reading MSNBC or CNN。 I should have stopped at the 84% mark。 Most of what she says is media hyperbole and not her well researched prose。 Sadly， Leonnig is a victim of her own industry and this effort is diminished because of it📚 。。。more
Donb
，