This is more a belated recommendation than a review. I read this book three years or so ago, but it's a fantastic history of the Secret Service that discusses how it's been on a downward trajectory for decades. To be clear, they still weren't as grossly incompetent as they've been in the last few years (or days), but the image of this agency as something special or elite isn't something that's been valid probably in my lifetime. Recommended for US history fans in general. It's well-written and deeply researched.
11 sats \ 2 replies \ @Bell_curve 17 Jul
Secret Service was created in 1865 to combat counterfeiting.
They became presidential bodyguards after McKinley assassination in 1901.
A big reason for their recent dysfunction is moving from treasury to homeland security
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13 sats \ 0 replies \ @StillStackinAfterAllTheseYears OP 17 Jul
They've been headed in that direction for decades, though, and never really recovered from the Kennedy assassination. It's a good book that's worth a read.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 17 Jul
2003 is when they moved to Homeland Security
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