Adapted from Within Arm’s Length for a young adult audience, a rare inside look at the Secret Service from an agent who protected Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush

Dan Emmett was just eight years old when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. From that moment forward, he knew he wanted to become a Secret Service agent, one of an elite group of highly trained men and women dedicated to preserving the life of the President of the United States at any cost, including sacrificing their own lives if necessary. Armed with single-minded determination and a never-quit attitude, he did just that. Selected over thousands of other highly qualified applicants to become an agent, he was eventually chosen to be one of the best of the best and provided protection worldwide for Presidents George Herbert Walker Bush, William Jefferson Clinton, and George W. Bush.

I Am a Secret Service Agent skillfully describes 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 with the inner workings of the White House. I Am A Secret Service Agent is a must read for young adults interested in a career in law enforcement.

After a stint in the Marine Corps, Dan Emmett joined the United States Secret Service, serving on the elite Counter Assault Team before being selected for the most coveted of all assignments in the Secret Service, the Presidential Protective Division. After 21 years as an agent, Emmett retired from the Secret Service and joined the CIA for six more years. Today, the author is an adjunct professor as well as a security consultant for both private industry and the United States Government. Emmett is the author of Within Arm’s Length and it’s YA adaptation, I Am a Secret Service Agent.

“A heart-pumping account of guarding President Clinton during a meeting with an unfriendly foreign dignitary opens Emmett’s adaptation of his 2014 adult book, Within Arm’s Length. In clear, straightforward prose he describes his role and the risks, exemplifying the commitment of the United States Secret Service to protect the president at all costs… Readers will admire Emmett’s discipline, commitment, physical strength, and endurance, as well as his understatement and dry humor.” —Publishers Weekly

“He . . . join[ed] the Presidential Protective Division to work both ‘shift’ assignments and on more heavily armed Counter Assault Teams during the Bush and Clinton administrations. . . . A tough job for tough-minded people—rewarding but with a heavy load of responsibility.” —Kirkus