Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service
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- Create Date：2022-07-08 06:53:32
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Carol Leonnig
- ISBN：0399589031
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Summary
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - "This is one of those books that will go down as the seminal work--the determinative work--in this field。 。 。 。 Terrifying。"--Rachel Maddow
The first definitive account of the rise and fall of the Secret Service， from the Kennedy assassination to the alarming mismanagement of the Obama and Trump years， right up to the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6--by the Pulitzer Prize winner and #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of A Very Stable Genius and I Alone Can Fix It
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST
Carol Leonnig has been reporting on the Secret Service for The Washington Post for most of the last decade， bringing to light the secrets， scandals， and shortcomings that plague the agency today--from a toxic work culture to dangerously outdated equipment to the deep resentment within the ranks at key agency leaders， who put protecting the agency's once-hallowed image before fixing its flaws。 But the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 its failure to protect the president on that fateful day in Dallas， this once-sleepy agency was radically transformed into an elite， highly trained unit that would redeem itself several times， most famously in 1981 by thwarting an assassination attempt against Ronald Reagan。 But this reputation for courage and excellence would not last forever。 By Barack Obama's presidency， the once-proud Secret Service was running on fumes and beset by mistakes and alarming lapses in judgment: break-ins at the White House， an armed gunman firing into the windows of the residence while confused agents stood by， and a massive prostitution scandal among agents in Cartagena， to name just a few。 With Donald Trump's arrival， a series of promised reforms were cast aside， as a president disdainful of public service instead abused the Secret Service to rack up political and personal gains。
To explore these problems in the ranks， Leonnig interviewed dozens of current and former agents， government officials， and whistleblowers who put their jobs on the line to speak out about a hobbled agency that's in desperate need of reform。 "I will be forever grateful to them for risking their careers，" she writes， "not because they wanted to share tantalizing gossip about presidents and their families， but because they know that the Service is broken and needs fixing。 By telling their story， they hope to revive the Service they love。"
The first definitive account of the rise and fall of the Secret Service， from the Kennedy assassination to the alarming mismanagement of the Obama and Trump years， right up to the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6--by the Pulitzer Prize winner and #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of A Very Stable Genius and I Alone Can Fix It
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST
Carol Leonnig has been reporting on the Secret Service for The Washington Post for most of the last decade， bringing to light the secrets， scandals， and shortcomings that plague the agency today--from a toxic work culture to dangerously outdated equipment to the deep resentment within the ranks at key agency leaders， who put protecting the agency's once-hallowed image before fixing its flaws。 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 its failure to protect the president on that fateful day in Dallas， this once-sleepy agency was radically transformed into an elite， highly trained unit that would redeem itself several times， most famously in 1981 by thwarting an assassination attempt against Ronald Reagan。 But this reputation for courage and excellence would not last forever。 By Barack Obama's presidency， the once-proud Secret Service was running on fumes and beset by mistakes and alarming lapses in judgment: break-ins at the White House， an armed gunman firing into the windows of the residence while confused agents stood by， and a massive prostitution scandal among agents in Cartagena， to name just a few。 With Donald Trump's arrival， a series of promised reforms were cast aside， as a president disdainful of public service instead abused the Secret Service to rack up political and personal gains。
To explore these problems in the ranks， Leonnig interviewed dozens of current and former agents， government officials， and whistleblowers who put their jobs on the line to speak out about a hobbled agency that's in desperate need of reform。 "I will be forever grateful to them for risking their careers，" she writes， "not because they wanted to share tantalizing gossip about presidents and their families， but because they know that the Service is broken and needs fixing。 By telling their story， they hope to revive the Service they love。"
Reviews
Hilton Keith
，
Exhaustively well sourced and researched account of Secret Service culture， foibles， challenges， and successes over several presidential terms， this Byzantine intrigue outlines the extremely expensive and often misogynist （and trumpist） department of law enforcement that watches over financial crimes， the White House， and the safety of high ranking public officials and their families。 It took me longer to read than I would have liked。 The scandals are like college freshman year （partay！） meets y Exhaustively well sourced and researched account of Secret Service culture， foibles， challenges， and successes over several presidential terms， this Byzantine intrigue outlines the extremely expensive and often misogynist （and trumpist） department of law enforcement that watches over financial crimes， the White House， and the safety of high ranking public officials and their families。 It took me longer to read than I would have liked。 The scandals are like college freshman year （partay！） meets your little brother （hint: he lies and blames you， or the dog， or the teacher， or he denies that he knows anything at all）。 There are many great stories; I felt they were a little obscured behind the vast Everglades of names named。 I understand why; like with the Nixon administration， we will likely keep seeing the same characters （if we are paying attention） for life， regardless of blemishes to their records。 For the most part， reformers seem to be consumed by corruption。 And， for the love of god， don’t try to be a female leader！ 。。。more
Susan Ladnier
，
An interesting read but the writing left no doubt which side of the political isle she is on。 Towards the end， was just a Trump bashing。
Kim
，
very informative;
Karen
，
I started this book a while back but stopped reading （well， listening） because I felt burnt out on how so many American institutions aren’t as stable or respectable as I’d once thought。I listened to Zero Fail this week and finished today。 The first half covers the history of the U。S。 Secret Service， while the second half describes several of the scandals and shortcomings of the past several years （and some are pretty shocking）。 I felt alarmed by the White House security lapses during the Obama y I started this book a while back but stopped reading （well， listening） because I felt burnt out on how so many American institutions aren’t as stable or respectable as I’d once thought。I listened to Zero Fail this week and finished today。 The first half covers the history of the U。S。 Secret Service， while the second half describes several of the scandals and shortcomings of the past several years （and some are pretty shocking）。 I felt alarmed by the White House security lapses during the Obama years described in the book。 The ethical lapses over the years （including unprofessionally close relationships with some protectees during the Trump years） were hard to understand — obviously agency culture is a factor but they definitely tarnish the agency’s once sterling reputation。 The Cartagena， Colombia scandal was just one example of agents’ ethics issues （ https://www。washingtonian。com/2013/03。。。 ）Just a warning about the audiobook: The first portion is narrated by the author， with a professional narrator narrating the middle， but then the author narrates several hours at the end of the book。 The author is a smart， hardworking journalist but wouldn’t have been my first choice to narrate so much of the book。 This was a fascinating book。 Highly recommended to American readers and those interested in American government and culture。 。。。more
Quinetta
，
Wow。 This was fantastic book！ I won’t leave a long review， but ultimately what I’ve learned is that the secret service wants to be a better agency but those operating without it continue down a path that make it impossible。 They are their own worse enemy and would have had more problems， that weren’t listed in the book， if it weren’t for random luck。 Ultimately， the upper leadership team will continue to falter due to their willingness to maintain the toxic status quo and those who hold the purs Wow。 This was fantastic book！ I won’t leave a long review， but ultimately what I’ve learned is that the secret service wants to be a better agency but those operating without it continue down a path that make it impossible。 They are their own worse enemy and would have had more problems， that weren’t listed in the book， if it weren’t for random luck。 Ultimately， the upper leadership team will continue to falter due to their willingness to maintain the toxic status quo and those who hold the purse strings that prevent updates to technology and meaningful reforms in hiring and recruitment。 。。。more
Tom
，
The author has gathered a mountain of information and presented it in an easy to read format。 But I found it difficult to read because of the unprofessional character of many of the agents。 I understand the difficulty and importance of the assignments but some of the agents seemed to act like frat boys。
Georgette
，
Great book， couldn't put it down。 It is quite alarming to read all of the near-misses that our Presidents have had in the past 20 years。 Disturbing and hoping that it gets the overhaul and funding it needs to fix all of the problems。 Great book， couldn't put it down。 It is quite alarming to read all of the near-misses that our Presidents have had in the past 20 years。 Disturbing and hoping that it gets the overhaul and funding it needs to fix all of the problems。 。。。more
Tristan Miller
，
The first half of the book is incredibly interesting and fascinating to learn about the beginning of the secret service。 The last half of the book is rather slow and do jot provide as much unique information。
Bob Goedjen
，
The author does a remarkable job of detailing historical actions and errors by the service，，， I think she was fair in her judgement of their errors and how they may have been avoided。 She may be an asset someday if the entire organization really wanted to fix the problems as a first priority while still maintaining their organizational style and historic traditions。 But， like most government organizations they are evaluated by their budgets and political influence than their actual records。I don The author does a remarkable job of detailing historical actions and errors by the service，，， I think she was fair in her judgement of their errors and how they may have been avoided。 She may be an asset someday if the entire organization really wanted to fix the problems as a first priority while still maintaining their organizational style and historic traditions。 But， like most government organizations they are evaluated by their budgets and political influence than their actual records。I don't think she uses her usual style when it comes to President Trump but I will only judge that some day when President Biden has served his terms and she writes a review of the service during his tenure。。。If any one cares and I have over 60 years of business experience I see the basic problem is too many tiers of managers。 This happens in both the commercial business world and the government but in the former their is more chance of fixing when profits reflect management。 What I mean is that the actual managers on the street with the President be less than 5 tiers from the top man。 Also that they can voice specific issues on a real time basis。。。 Fewer tiers mean faster reaction times as well as more truth and accuracy 。。。more
Elizabeth
，
3
Silvio111
，
Brilliantly researched。 Fastest 700 pages of nonfiction I have ever read。 Especially if you have lived through all these presidential administrations starting with JFK you will find this fascinating and revelatory。The most disturbing thing I learned （well， there were so many。。。） was the obscene amount of money charged to the taxpayer to provide security for all Trump's golf weekends as well as international travel for 17 of his family members， all of whom had to be protected。 And then how much m Brilliantly researched。 Fastest 700 pages of nonfiction I have ever read。 Especially if you have lived through all these presidential administrations starting with JFK you will find this fascinating and revelatory。The most disturbing thing I learned （well， there were so many。。。） was the obscene amount of money charged to the taxpayer to provide security for all Trump's golf weekends as well as international travel for 17 of his family members， all of whom had to be protected。 And then how much money the Trump organization charged the government at his hotels， resorts， etc。I highly recommend this book。 。。。more
Ernest Spoon
，
In reading this， I recognized many of the management strategies and cronyism within the Secret Service that infects the Post Service。 I suppose this is true of most federal agencies'mid- and upper-level management。 Ass covering and insincere obsequiousness from line supervisors on up is routine in government service。I´ve had two personal experiences with Secret Service agents， both detailed to former vice president Al Gore。 The first incident I actually got the guy to laugh。 The second was a you In reading this， I recognized many of the management strategies and cronyism within the Secret Service that infects the Post Service。 I suppose this is true of most federal agencies'mid- and upper-level management。 Ass covering and insincere obsequiousness from line supervisors on up is routine in government service。I´ve had two personal experiences with Secret Service agents， both detailed to former vice president Al Gore。 The first incident I actually got the guy to laugh。 The second was a young hardass behind dark glasses at a rally in downtown Des Moines。 I admit I wasn´t too pleasant myself as I had to wait for a couple of hours in line， which considering my heart condition is taxing to the extreme。 It seems， however， since at least since the Iraq War cops of all jurisdictions and levels of government seem to think they are soldiers of an occupying military and we civilians are all the enemy。The overall impress I garnered is the Secret Service is corrupt to it core。 Not a corruption for monetary gain， but a corruption by politics of a definite reactionary bent。 Law enforcement officers always leaned conservative。 During Germany´s Nazi era， civilian police often were recruited into the Schutzstaffel´s （SS） einsatzgruppe extermination squads in the early stages of the war。 The final section of this books paints are grim picture of the federal agency detailed to protect the life of the president， their family， as well as visiting foreign dignitaries。 The loyalty of individual Secret Service agents to a political party that， as a rule cuts， the agency´s funding borders on the insane。 。。。more
Kallan
，
After reading this （and finishing it 45 minutes before book club）， I am amazed that *any* president has survived his term。
John Streit
，
I would have easily given this book 5 stars if it wasn’t for the last fifty pages。 The author did an excellent jobOf detailing the secret service since the Kennedy administration。 I was surprised and appalled by the actions of many of the agents and their lack of integrity， morals that often put their positions and jobs in danger， unnecessarily。 But I could see the account of the Trump administration coming， the accounts of him being the worst person in the world，etc。 all the whileGlossing over I would have easily given this book 5 stars if it wasn’t for the last fifty pages。 The author did an excellent jobOf detailing the secret service since the Kennedy administration。 I was surprised and appalled by the actions of many of the agents and their lack of integrity， morals that often put their positions and jobs in danger， unnecessarily。 But I could see the account of the Trump administration coming， the accounts of him being the worst person in the world，etc。 all the whileGlossing over the president who preceded him。 Finally， she drags out the tired accounts of January 6， laying the blame at Trumps feet， all the while dismissing the “peaceful protests” that happened the summer before。 Typical for a Washington Post employee， but disheartening。 。。。more
Shawn
，
A fascinating look inside the Secret Service。 I had no idea what a bunch of clowns they are。
Brett Thurbon
，
Eye opening stuff！
Bekircan
，
https://www。lifyum。com https://www。lifyum。com 。。。more
Judith
，
Super depressing。 It is a miracle that Obama is alive 。。。 really， it's sort of amazing that there haven't been more traumatic events， considering the number of serious missteps made by the Secret Service。This book by Carol Leonnig starts with the early history of the Secret Service （created after Abraham Lincoln）， the grave mistakes made in Dallas in 1963， some stories from the 1970s， and then moves into what seems to be a series of re-postings of her articles from the Washington Post。 The situa Super depressing。 It is a miracle that Obama is alive 。。。 really， it's sort of amazing that there haven't been more traumatic events， considering the number of serious missteps made by the Secret Service。This book by Carol Leonnig starts with the early history of the Secret Service （created after Abraham Lincoln）， the grave mistakes made in Dallas in 1963， some stories from the 1970s， and then moves into what seems to be a series of re-postings of her articles from the Washington Post。 The situation is pretty bad: considering the job requires moments of life-threatening risk with long stretches of boredom -- though one must remain sensitive to any possible danger at any time -- but also total confidentiality and low to no profile， it is surprising that ANYONE would want to be a Secret Service agent。 But no， they end up with a bunch of meathead macho assholes WITH GUNS who drink like fish， hire sex workers while on tax-payer work trips （in addition to having multiple extramarital affairs） and make boneheaded mistakes over and over。 It's enraging。And the department has no money， poor equipment， constant turnover， low morale。 What a drag。OH， and Trump basically quadrupled （more or less） the Secret Service's spending when he insisted that his adult family members have coverage and made the Secret Service pay for rooms at luxury hotels and pay for their own airfare to cover his stupid sons as they flew to the Middle East and wherever to do Trump family business 。。。 it's sickening。 （Of course， it turns out most Secret Service agents were thrilled with Trump politically。 Bleah。）I think this is an interesting topic and something that U。S。 folks should know about， but "Zero Fail" （the title is taken from the Secret Service's supposed goal） is a little too long with too much repetition - chapters read like separate newspaper articles， where the same people are newly introduced each time their name pops up -- and needed a much closer editor。 I saw at least three howling proofreading mistakes that jumped out at me: Leonnig describes a particular agent as 6'4" on one page; two pages later， the same guy is described as being 6'3"。 （I mean， that's weird。 She mentions a guy’s height twice and mixes it up？） She refers to a time after midnight as being PM （instead of AM）。 And finally， she writes that Rachel Weaver， the Republican Congressional staffer who dove into all of the Secret Service misdeeds （with the goal of embarrassing Obama）， first got a call from Rep。 Jason Chaffetz in October 2014 。。。 and then Leonnig writes that Weaver started work for Chaffetz in September 2014。 THOSE TWO FACTS ARE SHARED WITHIN TWO SENTENCES。 No one caught that？ For real？So， the story was entirely depressing， it was too long， and the writing needed a better editor。 Other than that， worth the read。 。。。more
Paul
，
Really good history and very disturbing。 More confirmation if any needed of what a douchebag tRump is。
April
，
I wanted to love this book， but I found myself getting frustrated repeatedly。 While I appreciate the author's engaging style that brought to life the incidents that she chronicles， I found it was way too much tree and not enough forest; extremely minute details were included on specific （largely well-known） Secret Service scandals， which IMO didn't leave enough pages for big picture analysis and more of a continuous， behind-the-scenes understanding of the organization。 There was literally no rea I wanted to love this book， but I found myself getting frustrated repeatedly。 While I appreciate the author's engaging style that brought to life the incidents that she chronicles， I found it was way too much tree and not enough forest; extremely minute details were included on specific （largely well-known） Secret Service scandals， which IMO didn't leave enough pages for big picture analysis and more of a continuous， behind-the-scenes understanding of the organization。 There was literally no reason to go into the intimate details of Clinton's sex acts or Secret Service members' intimate text messages; I'm no prude， but it just felt salacious and unnecessary。 The author also threw away all attempts at neutrality in discussions of Trump。 I don't disagree with her， but she weakened her own credibility with such obvious bias。 This book was definitely interesting， but could have been so much more。 。。。more
Julie
，
I walked away with a better appreciation of challenges faced by the Secret Service that are eternally driven by politics and internally driven by a challenging workplace culture that lacks diversity。 It’s a bit scary to see how many breaches have occurred and how stretched the Secret Service resources are。 It reads like Headline news stringing together reporting of different events。 The author notes that her goal is to show why we need to shore up funding and decision making。 A worthwhile read t I walked away with a better appreciation of challenges faced by the Secret Service that are eternally driven by politics and internally driven by a challenging workplace culture that lacks diversity。 It’s a bit scary to see how many breaches have occurred and how stretched the Secret Service resources are。 It reads like Headline news stringing together reporting of different events。 The author notes that her goal is to show why we need to shore up funding and decision making。 A worthwhile read to see another side of politics。 。。。more
Rebekah
，
Very interesting book on the history of the secret service- I learned alot and love reading any book by this author！
Judi Anderson
，
Great book， scary afLike most government law enforcement entities， this one is fully peopled with overblown egos， cronyism， and corruption。 And that's just the human resources; we learn more about the foibles of those beings they are assigned to protect at great risk to themselves and to the detriment of their families。 These are largely white men with the egos and arrogance usually seen in fighter pilots。 They are also increasingly tasked with more wide-ranging assignments， and in the instance Great book， scary afLike most government law enforcement entities， this one is fully peopled with overblown egos， cronyism， and corruption。 And that's just the human resources; we learn more about the foibles of those beings they are assigned to protect at great risk to themselves and to the detriment of their families。 These are largely white men with the egos and arrogance usually seen in fighter pilots。 They are also increasingly tasked with more wide-ranging assignments， and in the instance of the 45th potus， woefully underfunded as relates to tech and surveillance capability， overworked， overstressed， and unpaid。Maybe more later， but unlikely。 I hate this part for transporting me back to 4th grade book reports。Blessed with 25 pages of source notes arranged by chapter。 The text is free of reference interruptions。 。。。more
Teresa Andreani
，
An interesting and deeply researched look at the secret service。
MilkywayCrossing
，
This book is a history of Secret Service focusing on the mistakes made over the course of its existence。 Unsurprisingly， attempts made to fix problems in the Secret Service keep being undermined， both by politicians， and by officers in the Service itself。
Joseph V。
，
Unexpected page turned。 Kind of a gallery of horrors
april
，
Who knew our Presidents were having such a good time！
Diana
，
My husband and I listened to this book anytime we traveled any distance together so it took a long time for us to finish it。 We both enjoyed it。 I had no idea the secret service was such a mess。 The history of the secret service was fascinating。 A good book。
Jason Roland
，
Very， very interesting look through the history of the Secret Service。 The focus is on the agency from Kennedy to Trump and does DEEP dives on the triumphs and tragedies of the USSS。 Recommend
David Baer
，