"Dan Emmett was just eight years old when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The events surrounding the President's death shaped the course of young Emmett's life as he set a goal of becoming a US Secret Service agent--one of a special group of people willing to trade their lives for that of the President, if necessary. Within Arm's Length is the essential book on the Secret Service--a revealing and compelling inside look at the Presidential Protective Division (PPD) with stories from some of the author's more high-profile assignments in his twenty-one years of service, where he provided arm's length protection worldwide for Presidents George Herbert Walker Bush, William Jefferson Clinton, and George W. Bush, both as a member of the PPD and the Counter Assault Team. Dan Emmett describes the professional challenges faced by Secret Service agents as well as the physical and emotional toll that can be inflicted on both agents and their families. Within Arm's Length also shares firsthand details about the duties and challenges of conducting presidential advances, dealing with the media, driving the President in a bullet-proof limousine, running alongside him through the streets of Washington, and flying with him on Air Force One. With fascinating anecdotes, Emmett weaves keen insight into the unique culture and history of the Secret Service and the inner workings of the White House"--

Includes index

The death of a president and the birth of a career -- College, the marine corps, and Ronald Reagan -- Never giveup unless you are dead -- The Charlotte field office -- Special agent training -- Back to Charlotte -- The New York field office -- The counter assault team -- The agent who loved me...eventually -- Human shields and operant conditioning -- The boldness of the presidency -- Presidential protective division -- Shaping the next generation -- Retirement and the CIA -- Appendix 1: A brief history of the secret service -- Appendix 2: Glossary of terms and acronyms

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