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Zero Fail
Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service | Carol Leonnig
26 posts | 12 read | 8 to read
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 6by the Pulitzer Prize winner and #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of A Very Stable Genius 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to light the secrets, scandals, and shortcomings that plague the agency todayfrom a toxic work culture to dangerously outdated equipment to the deep resentment within the ranks at key agency leaders, who put protecting the agencys once-hallowed image before fixing its flaws. But the Secret Service wasnt 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 Obamas 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 Trumps 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 thats 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.
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jdiehr
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Pickpick

An eye-opening history of the Secret Service from its beginning after Lincoln's assassination to the end of Trump's term.

I am normally not interested in this kind of book, but when a loved one who is in the service recommended it, I wanted to read it.

The history was fascinating, and the peek behind the scenes was both intriguing and a little frightening.

25 likes2 stack adds
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LeslieO
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#AprilRecap :
Nine! Huge for me
#bookspin✔️
#doublespin✔️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✔️✔️(Hello Beautiful & Zero Fail)
#nonfiction2023 ✔️✔️
#serieslove2023 - nope

31 likes1 stack add
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MallenNC
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Pickpick

It was really interesting and also pretty terrifying to read about the U.S. Secret Service, including the challenges and flaws of this force. The short version is it‘s a miracle that President Obama survived his two terms. It covers all the modern presidents except Biden.

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Sweettartlaura
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It‘s #worldbookday !
What are you reading today?
I‘m working on
NF - Zero Fail by Carol Leonnig
SS - The Time Traveler‘s Almanac
A - The Other Side of Midnight by Simone St James
F - And then I‘m starting What Comes After by JoAnne Tompkins

Pick a book ~ buy a book ~ visit a Little Free Library ~ go to your public library ~ find a deal online ~ read a well-loved favorite with a child in your life ~ just read something today ♥️📚

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RamsFan1963
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Bailedbailed

This is a case of it's me not the book. I'll probably come back to it at another time, but right now I'm not in the right mind set for this. Only my 2nd DNF for 2021, so I don't feel too bad.

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keithmalek
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Pickpick

Very interesting. It doesn't really delve into the systemic problems of the Secret Service until about midway through the book, but the first half is a fascinating history of the Secret Service that the reader should definitely not skip over.

BookishMarginalia Stacked! 3y
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keithmalek
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keithmalek
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And to think that these are the same people who are now in charge of protecting Biden and Harris!

BookishMarginalia 😳😳😳 3y
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keithmalek
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BookishMarginalia This is terrifying. I used to wonder how Germany could go from multicultural integrated society to Nazi nightmare within a decade. I no longer wonder. 3y
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keithmalek
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BookishMarginalia This attitude towards public health (masking and vaccines) is still so incomprehensible to me… 3y
Susanita @BookishMarginalia What‘s happening in Tennessee is astonishing and alarming. 3y
BookishMarginalia @Susanita Yes! Florida is 😖 3y
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keithmalek

He controlled his temper, but she could feel it in the room. "You know what?" Obama said. "The problem with the Secret Service is that you don't have enough women in the Secret Service."

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keithmalek
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(Continued)...practicing his aim.

This was the lunatic that shot at the White House. Fuck Alex Jones!

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keithmalek
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Mcduke7
Pickpick

Carefully researched history of the US Secret Service from JFK through Trump. Reads like fiction - a real page-turner!

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keithmalek
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(Continued)...SHOOT OBAMA in a tunnel that students used to cross campus.

This chapter on the threats to Obama is sickening.

BookishMarginalia 😳😳😳 I remember seeing pictures of Obama effigies being lynched. It is sickening, like the Jan 6 insurrectionists building a gallows in front of the Capitol. 3y
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keithmalek
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White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, on the morning of 9/11.

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keithmalek
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When it comes to propaganda, their attention to detail is stunning.

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keithmalek
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megnews He‘s such a pig 3y
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keithmalek
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keithmalek
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(Continued)...allowed more detail agents to take the day off. "That's unbelievable, that the most powerful man in the world would think enough of other people to delay his vacation by twenty-four to forty-eight hours just so other people could be with their families," Rich Miller, the former head of Bush's detail said.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa That‘s the nicest thing I‘ve ever heard about him! 3y
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keithmalek
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keithmalek
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This is in reference to an exercise that Secret Service agents did repeatedly following the shooting of George Wallace.

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keithmalek
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This is what LBJ was focused on while Kennedy's body was still in the process of being flown back to Washington D.C, mere hours after his assassination. What an asshole!

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keithmalek
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JFK said this. Maybe he should've thought of that before picking him as his VP.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Right! Everyone thinks they‘ll live forever, I guess. 3y
LeslieO They pick the guy who will help them win, I guess. 3y
7 likes2 comments
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Well-ReadNeck
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Mehso-so

Lots of tell all, but in spite of claiming otherwise, no real suggestions for improvement.