The Secret Service: The Hidden History of an Enigmatic Agency

by Melanson, Philip H.; Stevens, Peter F.

• ISBN13: 9780786712519
• ISBN10: 0786712511
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-10-01
• Publisher: Pub Group West

Summary

Now in paperback, the first definitive history to probe the long-shrouded U.S. government agency recently merged into the Homeland Security Department Explosive and revealing, this history of a highly visible yet traditionally tight-lipped federal agency by Philip Melanson, acclaimed scholar of political violence and governmental secrecy, explores the long-hidden workings of the Secret Service since its inception in 1865. Rigorous research and extensive interviews with former White House staffers, retired agents, Service training dropouts, and the first female agent on presidential detail uncover little-known, frequently astonishing facts about the Service's role in traumatic national events of the past century, notably among them the assassination of JFK and the shooting of President Reagan. Included, too, are revelations about presidential demands on the agency; alcoholism, divorce, and burnout among agents; the Service's inexplicable failure to develop profiles of potential assassins; and its institutionalization of the gender gap. Assailing the public image

Author Biography

Philip H. Melanson, PH.D., is Chancellor Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He is an expert on political violence and governmental secrecy, and has done original research into the JFK, RFK, and Martin Luther King assassinations, prompting appearances on the CBS Evening News, BBC, History Channel, and Discovery Channel. He has served as a consultant to the (JFK) Assassinations-Records Review Board, and is Coordinator of the RFK Assassination Archives at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Using the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act he has obtained the release of approximately 200,000 pages of previously classified government documents. He serves as chair of the executive board and senior research fellow at the Center for Policy Analysis, and lectures widely to colleges and universities, law enforcement agencies and at military installations. He has published articles in such publications as The Nation, Politics and Society, Comparative Political Studies and Library Journal. Prior to The Secret Service, his most recent book was Secrecy Wars. The News and Features Editor of the Boston Irish Reporter, Peter F. Stevens is a journalist and author whose books include The Voyage of the Catalpa: A Perilous Journey and Six Irish Rebels' Escape to Freedom; The Rogue's March: John Riley and the St. Patrick's Battalion, 1846-1848; The Mayflower Murderer and Other Forgotten Firsts in American History; Notorious and Notable New Englanders; and Links Lore: Dramatic Moments and Neglected Milestones from Golf History.

Table of Contents

PART ONE-THE EVOLUTION OF THE MISSION
CHAPTER 1: "DEATH TO TRAITORS"	3	(23)
CHAPTER 2: "THE WORK OF PROTECTING ME HAS AT LAST BECOME LEGAL"	26	(32)
CHAPTER 3: LOSING LANCER-THE JFK ASSASSINATION	58	(32)
CHAPTER 4: AGENTS IN ACTION	90	(23)
CHAPTER 5: "GO TO GEORGE WASHINGTON HOSPITAL-FAST!"	113	(17)
CHAPTER 6: FORTRESS WHITE HOUSE?	130	(21)
PART TWO-ON THE JOB
CHAPTER 7: A FEW GOOD MEN AND A VERY FEW GOOD WOMEN	151	(44)
CHAPTER 8: THE POLITICS OF PROTECTION	195	(29)
CHAPTER 9: "THE SIXTH SENSE"	224	(35)
PART THREE-THE HUMAN FACTOR
CHAPTER 10: BOOZE, BURNOUT, DEMANDS, AND DEPRESSION	259	(14)
CHAPTER 11: FAMILY MATTERS-PROTECTING FIRST LADIES AND FIRST KIDS	273	(10)
CHAPTER 12: GETTING TO KNOW YOU-PRESIDENTIAL PSYCHOLOGY	283	(22)
PART FOUR-THE SECRET SERVICE TODAY AND TOMORROW
CHAPTER 13: BREAKING THE CODE OF SILENCE-FROM JOHN F. KENNEDY TO KEN STARR	305	(9)
CHAPTER 14: A WHOLE NEW BALLGAME-THE SECRET SERVICE IN THE AGE OF TERRORISM	314	(19)
CONCLUSION	333	(8)
ENDNOTES	341	(16)
BIBLIOGRAPHY	357	(6)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	363	(2)
INDEX	365	(10)
ABOUT THE AUTHORS	375