Journalist to discuss book on Secret Service Oct. 7
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Carol Leonnig will discuss her book, “Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service” with author and retired U.S. Army officer Ed Ruggero during a History Book Festival program at 5 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 7, via Zoom.
The program will include a question-and-answer session following the author’s presentation.
“Zero Fail” is the product of insights gained through Leonnig’s reporting on the Secret Service for The Washington Post over the last decade. She also conducted exhaustive research, and interviews with dozens of current and former agents, government officials and whistleblowers.
Established in the wake of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, the Secret Service gradually fell into complacency until President John F. Kennedy’s death in 1963 triggered a radical transformation. But by the time of Barack Obama’s presidency, the once-proud agency was again beset by mistakes and alarming lapses in judgment that led to break-ins at the White House and an armed gunman firing into the windows of the residence while confused agents stood by.
Leonnig brings to light the secrets, scandals and shortcomings that plague the Secret Service today, from a toxic work culture and dangerously outdated equipment to the deep resentment within the ranks at key agency leaders, who are perceived as more interested in protecting a once-hallowed image than in fixing flaws.
Leonnig is a national investigative reporter at The Washington Post where she has worked since 2000 covering presidential administrations.
She won the Pulitzer Prize in 2015 for her reporting on security failures and misconduct inside the Secret Service. She also was part of Post teams awarded Pulitzers in 2018 for reporting on Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, and in 2014 for revealing the U.S. government’s secret, broad surveillance of Americans.
Leonnig is an on-air contributor to NBC News and MSNBC. With fellow Post reporter Philip Ricker, she is the co-author of “A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump’s Testing of America,” and “I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump’s Final Catastrophic Year.”
Ruggero is a West Point graduate who has studied, practiced and taught leadership for more than 25 years. He has appeared on CNN, the History Channel, the Discovery Channel and CNBC. His books include “Duty First: West Point and the Making of American Leaders” and “The First Men In: U.S. Paratroopers and the Fight to Save D-Day.”
The Zoom-based program is free, but preregistration is required. To reserve a spot, go to historybookfestival.org.
The Oct. 7 program is part of the 2021 History Book Festival, which features noted authors of newly published historical fiction and nonfiction works.
Copies of “Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service” are available at Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, the official bookseller of the History Book Festival. Biblion in Lewes also has copies of the book for sale. Books purchased at either shop come with a signed archival bookplate.
Presenting sponsors of the 2021 festival are Delaware Humanities and the Lee Ann Wilkinson Group of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Gallo Realty.
In addition to the Lewes Public Library, the festival’s virtual programs are supported by the Delaware Division of Libraries and Sussex County Libraries.
Now in its fifth year, the History Book Festival is the first and only book festival in the United States devoted exclusively to history.
