Within Arm's Length: A Secret Service Agent's Definitive Inside Account of Protecting the President

A “very moving” inside look at the Secret Service from an agent for George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush (Jake Tapper, CNN correspondent and New York Times–bestselling author of The Outpost).

Dan Emmett was just eight years old when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, an event that shaped the course of young Emmett's life as he set a goal of becoming a US Secret Service agent.

Within Arm's Length is a revealing inside look at the Secret Service and the elite Presidential Protective Division (PPD). With stories from some of the author's more high-profile assignments in his twenty-one years of service, Dan Emmett describes the professional, physical and emotional challenges faced by Secret Service agents.

Included are never before discussed topics such as the complicated relationship between presidents, first ladies and their agents, the inner workings of Secret Service protective operations as well as the seldom-mentioned challenges of the complex Secret Service cultural issues faced by an agent's family. Within Arm's Length also shares firsthand details about 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.

An essential book on the United States Secret Service, Within Arms Length gives the reader an unprecedented look into the life and career of an agent in America's most elite law enforcement agency.

“A must-read for anyone anticipating a job in government security services or police administration.” —Abraham Bolden, first African American Secret Service agent assigned to the PPD

“Fascinating.” —Shannon Bream, FOX News

“Succeeds in making vivid the life and culture of the anonymous . . . men and women clustered around the president.” —Library Journal

© 2025 St. Martin's Press (Ebook): 9781466843172

Release date

Ebook: 14 March 2025