Secrets of the Secret Service: The History and Uncertain Future of the U.S. Secret Service

Gary J. Byrne

Jan 2018 · Sold by Center Street

About this ebook

From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller CRISIS OF CHARACTER comes an explosive new exposé of the Secret Service.
The United States Secret Service is tasked with protecting our Presidents, their families, and the complex in which they live and work. Given this important mission, world stability rests upon the shoulders of its agents.
In his new book, former Secret Service officer Gary Byrne takes readers behind the scenes to understand the agency's history and today's security failings that he believes put Americans at risk
The American public knows the stories of Secret Service heroism, but they don't know about the hidden legacy of problems that have plagued the agency ever since its creation.
Gary Byrne says that decades of catastrophic public failures, near misses, and bureaucratic and cultural rot threaten to erode this critical organization from the inside out.
Today, as it works to protect President Trump, the Secret Service stands at a crossroads, and the time needed to choose the right course is running out. Agents and officers are leaving the Secret Service in droves, or they're being overworked to the point where they lose focus on the job. Management makes decisions based on politics, not the welfare of their employees.
Byrne believes that this means danger for the men and women of the Secret Service, danger for the President they protect, and danger for the nation. In this book, he shares what he has witnessed and learned about the Secret Service with the hope that the problems of this most important agency can be fixed before it's too late.

Ratings and reviews

That's YOUR tax money being wasted on inefficiency and coverups! This book begins with a rant on a particular administration which was very difficult to protect and was a harbinger of the problems resulting in a serious morale problem. It then segues into a history of the service and the lousy follow up after each assassination or attempt. Next under fire is the ongoing departmental administration issue referred to as Plantation Mentality/secret service culture which includes factors such as no real fiscal responsibility, and the preferences for coverup over employee accountability. Employee job satisfaction which began as pride of service rendered but became buried under management misconduct and poor accountability and seriously insufficient staffing as well as the problems directly related to far too much mandatory overtime resulted in high rates of suicide, divorce, and the problems inherent in testosterone poisoning. Because there is no real fiscal responsibility, there is excessive overtime and the director just keeps demanding more funds rather than improving departmental performance. I was appalled to read of how few hours of training and range time requirements which are lower than that for Concealed Carry citizenry. Now I understand why local law enforcement disdains this group which has no ability or authority to even issue a traffic ticket! So why did I begin with a rant about taxpayer dollars? It seems that in interest of secrecy of internal misconduct, untold employees are pensioned off with full benefits ad infinitum instead of being prosecuted as a civilian would be. The issue of continued secret service protection ad infinitum for past presidents and their families instead of allowing the protectee to contribute to the cost of a cleared private sector provider is another way that the taxpayers are being fleeced. Is this book factual? The evidence is there, and checking out the references cited was even more appalling. Is it well written? Tough call, the grouping of ideas seems a bit odd, but on the whole it does reflect a very unpleasant reality. The final segment is focused on the need to scrap the current business model and replace it with one that is more honest and fiscally responsible which will please taxpayers and return dignity to the women and men whose purpose it is to protect the POTUS. Disclaimers: I am predisposed toward law enforcement as I worked alongside accountable sworn staff for some years. I requested and received a free review copy via NetGalley.

Quick and easy read, very compelling. Great insight not available anywhere else. For those looking for this type of information, a must read.