The First Family Detail: Secret Service Agents Reveal the Hidden Lives of the Presidents

I saw the book and brought it on a whim. It makes interesting reading the author writes well and brings alive the voices of the agents. A hard job done by very dedicated men and women

I really enjoyed this book. It is filled with lots of stories that are fascinating to read. Ronald Kessler's writing style is very easy to read and I breezed through this book quickly as I couldn't put it down. I read Clint Hill's 'Mrs Kennedy and Me' and loved it. If you have read that you will enjoy this. It is the first book I have read by Ronald Kessler, but it won't be the last.

If you have read in the presidents service there is really no need to read this book. Most of the stories are just the same with the occasional extra bit added on. There are a couple of New stories that have been added but overall its a bit like reading the same book twice. With that being said it is interesting to read what the presidents and families are like away from the camera's and some of the families do not come out well.

The First Family Detail: Secret Service Agents Reveal the Hidden Lives of the Presidents by Ronald Kessler is marketed as giving an insight into what life out of the public eye is really like with current and former US Presidents, Vice-Presidents or Presidential candidates. Some individuals come out well on a personal level e.g. former First Lady Barbara Bush’s concern for a Secret Service agent when out walking or Dick Cheney’s promptness and consideration for an Agents time and service. Others do not e.g. Joe Biden’s apparent disregard for taxpayers money in his use (misuse) of Air Force Two or the conduct of both Bill and Hillary Clinton. As one who has no axe to grind with either political party given that I do not live in the US, I found Ronald Kessler’s book to be easy reading, interesting and illuminating if somewhat concerning in part. Setting aside the fact that most people – politicians being no exception ( perhaps an understatement!!) - have their public face and their private face, my feeling about this book is that the stand out revelations are more about the pressures facing the Secret Service. Some of the examples given of Secret Service management cutting corners or demonstrating poor decision making skills when issuing instructions to their Agents is dreadful. The lack of resources, be they management, financial, physical or just plain common sense would, I should have thought, be something the Administration should be addressing as a matter of urgency given that those men and women are very much their safety blanket and last line of defence in a threatening situation.

The First Family Detail by Ron Kessler, former Washington Post reporter, takes the lid of the White House and the families which have inhabited that prime piece of real estate on Pennsylvania Ave in Washington D.C. The book is just over 200 pages long but is filled with inside dope on the first family. The book also explains the function of the Secret Service in a free society and the many problems concerning security, weaponry and personnel that needs to be changed if the SS is to operate on a more effective level in our age of global terrorism and assassination. Among juice items revealed by Kessler": LBJ and Spiro Agnew were both womanizers. LBJ was often crude and rude to the agents and even his family members. Hillary Clinton is despised by the Secret Service Agents who protect her. She cusses like a sailor on leave and is rude to the agents. She and Bill Clinton have a business arrangement. She loves power and is very ambitious. Her daughter Chelsea is polite and respectful of Secret Service personnel. Bill Clinton is a chronic womanizer, is always late and is a narcissistic and ego driven man. Kessler reports that the agents love Laura Bush and think highly of the entire Bush family. This is true even though Jenna and Barbara were wild during the time their father occupied the Oval Office. Richard Nixon was a formal and distracted man who only thought of politics and sports when in conversation with agents. Pat Nixon was a heavy drinker. Jimmy Carter was self-centered and not friendly to agents. His wife Rosalynn was much better liked than her husband. Ronald Reagan enjoyed joking and telling stories with agents but his wife Nancy was cold and aloof. Gerald Ford was OK but was a tightwad who enjoyed running with the rich and famous. The family of Barack Obama are friendly and the agents like serving him as well as his friendly wife Michelle and their two adorable and polite daughters. Vice President Joe Biden has spent over one million dollars of taxpayer money for frequent air trips from D.C. to his mansion in Wilmington Del. Biden refuses to have the nuclear football near him when on the road. The book is an interesting read and explains the life of a Secret Service Agent. Enjoy!