The Story of the U.S. Secret Service

In March 1980, U.S. Secret Service Agent Tim McCarthy did something no one else has ever done. He took a bullet for the president.The president was Ronald Reagan. Agent McCarthy jumped in front of President Reagan as a young gunman fired six shots in an attempt to kill the president. Due to his heroic action, Agent McCarthy saved President Reagan’s life. But this unsung hero never thought that his actions that day were heroic. “I’m glad I got to do what I was trained to do,” he later said. He also paid tribute to the other agents who were on the presidential detail that day. “It was a heck of a team effort,” he said.Agent McCarthy is just one of the many unsung heroes young readers will learn about in this intriguing history of the U.S. Secret Service. Among other things, readers will discover:• The original purpose of the Secret Service (it was not to protect the president);• How U.S. presidents were protected before the U.S. Secret Service; • The heroic actions of Secret Service agents since 1901;• What U.S. Secret Agent Tim McCarthy did that no other agent has ever done;• How the Secret Service has changed since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.Most importantly, readers will learn about a remarkable group of men (and, since 1971, women) who risk their lives every day to protect the president and his family and other government officials. They truly are American’s Unsung Heroes.