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Behind the Shades: A Female Secret Service Agent's True Story
Behind the Shades tells the story of the life of a female agent entering the male dominated world of the Secret Service. It is a story of personal sacrifice, adventure, acceptance and rejection, tenacity, endurance, and hard work during trying times. Sue Ann Baker was on the front lines of history and observed it being made on a larger scale. She is one of the pioneers who paved the way for the many capable female agents that followed in her footsteps, and I am proud to say I served with her. Clinton J. Hill, Assistant Director, Protective Forces (Retired) United States Secret Service NY Times Bestselling author of Mrs. Kennedy and Me
221 pages, Paperback
First published May 25, 2015
7 people are currently reading
480 people want to read
About the author
Sue Ann Baker
1 book3 followersIn 1968, with a degree from Ohio University under her belt and all her worldly belongings in a trailer, Sue Ann set off for Washington, DC to start her career as a…what? She had no life plan and was just happy to find work, finally embracing the exciting world of law enforcement as a DC cop earning $8000 a year. In her book Behind the Shades, she describes her journey from DC cop to becoming one of the first five female agents in the elite US Secret Service in 1971. During the 1972 presidential campaign she crisscrossed the county protecting presidential hopeful Shirley Chisholm and Senator George McGovern’s wife, Eleanor. A thirteen day, ten country trip to the Middle East with the Secretary of the Treasury, William Simon and his wife, was a highlight of her career.
In 1973, as the first “girl agent” transferred out of DC, she drove across country in her red Datsun 240Z to her new field office in California. A year later, she made the difficult decision to leave the Secret Service and launch a new career as a private investigator in LA.
In 1973, as the first “girl agent” transferred out of DC, she drove across country in her red Datsun 240Z to her new field office in California. A year later, she made the difficult decision to leave the Secret Service and launch a new career as a private investigator in LA.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 15, 2015
*I received a free copy of this from a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review*
What a fascinating story. The author is a true trailblazer and a total bad-ass. While I love non-fiction written by authors like Erik Larson who take you back in time, it's always more fun to read about history from those who actually lived it. And, in this case, made it. Really quite an enjoyable book that I would recommend to others.
What a fascinating story. The author is a true trailblazer and a total bad-ass. While I love non-fiction written by authors like Erik Larson who take you back in time, it's always more fun to read about history from those who actually lived it. And, in this case, made it. Really quite an enjoyable book that I would recommend to others.
September 14, 2015
(Note: I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads.)
A memoir by a woman who, in the early 1970s, was one of the first five women hired as Secret Service agents. She spent four years with the Service, and the book focuses mostly on those four years (some of the early sections deal with her early life, and the sequence of decisions which led her to the Service, but there's almost nothing about her life afterwards).
If you're hoping for an expose on sexism and discrimination in the Service, you'll likely be somewhat disappointed. She makes it clear that she did face obstacles and sexism, and mentions some specific examples; but she doesn't dwell on them. She spends most of the book recounting anecdotes about her assignments, primarily politicians and politicians' wives she protected. There are also a couple eventful arrests she was a part of, including a farcical (but ultimately successful) trip to Tijuana with a caravan of agents to catch a counterfeiter. She gives us a lot of enjoyable memories- places she traveled to, important people she met- but also gives us a feel for how stressful and exhausting the life of a Secret Service agent can be; how difficult it can be to have any normal personal life outside the job.
A couple times during the book, Baker prides herself on her ability to write concise, "just-the-facts-ma'am" reports; and that writing style dominates this book as well. It's a good fit; her stories are never long-winded enough to grow dull. And, on the rare occasions when she does offer up superfluous details, it usually adds a note of droll humor to her prose (such as when she describes herself cooking a dinner of Jiffy-Pop: "When it looked like a silver bald head from outer space, it was done.")
Overall: an engaging book about very interesting subject matter. In fact, the one flaw might be that it's too short; I was left wanting more Secret Service stories. Recommended.
A memoir by a woman who, in the early 1970s, was one of the first five women hired as Secret Service agents. She spent four years with the Service, and the book focuses mostly on those four years (some of the early sections deal with her early life, and the sequence of decisions which led her to the Service, but there's almost nothing about her life afterwards).
If you're hoping for an expose on sexism and discrimination in the Service, you'll likely be somewhat disappointed. She makes it clear that she did face obstacles and sexism, and mentions some specific examples; but she doesn't dwell on them. She spends most of the book recounting anecdotes about her assignments, primarily politicians and politicians' wives she protected. There are also a couple eventful arrests she was a part of, including a farcical (but ultimately successful) trip to Tijuana with a caravan of agents to catch a counterfeiter. She gives us a lot of enjoyable memories- places she traveled to, important people she met- but also gives us a feel for how stressful and exhausting the life of a Secret Service agent can be; how difficult it can be to have any normal personal life outside the job.
A couple times during the book, Baker prides herself on her ability to write concise, "just-the-facts-ma'am" reports; and that writing style dominates this book as well. It's a good fit; her stories are never long-winded enough to grow dull. And, on the rare occasions when she does offer up superfluous details, it usually adds a note of droll humor to her prose (such as when she describes herself cooking a dinner of Jiffy-Pop: "When it looked like a silver bald head from outer space, it was done.")
Overall: an engaging book about very interesting subject matter. In fact, the one flaw might be that it's too short; I was left wanting more Secret Service stories. Recommended.
April 10, 2016
I received this book for free through Goodreads first-reads.
This is a fascinating book looking into the career of Sue Ann Baker, one of the first female Secret Service agents. Although it was a brief career of four years, Ms Baker certainly helped pave the way for women in all branches of law enforcement.
If someone is looking to read about lots of action, and protecting dignitaries from flying bullets, and foiling kidnapping attempts, you won't find it in this book. What you will read about is the preparations that are made beforehand that prevent these events from happening. You will read about the thought process of an agent when approaching various situations.
I loved Ms. Baker's humour which came through once in a while, like when being wooed by a KGB agent, or having her picture taken on a dromedary.
The addition of photographs and letters from her service were also great and added a lot to the book. This is a great read for anyone interested in real life law enforcement.
This is a fascinating book looking into the career of Sue Ann Baker, one of the first female Secret Service agents. Although it was a brief career of four years, Ms Baker certainly helped pave the way for women in all branches of law enforcement.
If someone is looking to read about lots of action, and protecting dignitaries from flying bullets, and foiling kidnapping attempts, you won't find it in this book. What you will read about is the preparations that are made beforehand that prevent these events from happening. You will read about the thought process of an agent when approaching various situations.
I loved Ms. Baker's humour which came through once in a while, like when being wooed by a KGB agent, or having her picture taken on a dromedary.
The addition of photographs and letters from her service were also great and added a lot to the book. This is a great read for anyone interested in real life law enforcement.
September 21, 2015
I won a copy of this in a Goodreads giveaway.
The author says up front that she is writing this in response to friends and family who have urged her to tell her story about life as one of the first class of female Secret Service agents. That is reflected in the tone of this book. Her voice is very clear in this book, and you can well imagine sitting around over a beer or a dessert, while she tells you about the time when....
As such, this is a breezy, fast read and entertaining.
If you're expecting in-depth analysis of the challenges or the people, or are expecting dirt on the high-and-mighty for whom Baker served as a protective agent, you'll have to look elsewhere. She is generous and kind about most of her charges, and is very tactful about the one person with whom she clearly clashed.
The author says up front that she is writing this in response to friends and family who have urged her to tell her story about life as one of the first class of female Secret Service agents. That is reflected in the tone of this book. Her voice is very clear in this book, and you can well imagine sitting around over a beer or a dessert, while she tells you about the time when....
As such, this is a breezy, fast read and entertaining.
If you're expecting in-depth analysis of the challenges or the people, or are expecting dirt on the high-and-mighty for whom Baker served as a protective agent, you'll have to look elsewhere. She is generous and kind about most of her charges, and is very tactful about the one person with whom she clearly clashed.
January 4, 2018
An interesting read about Sue Ann Baker's time as one of the first women in the Secret Service. I now have a better idea of what the Secret Service does. It was interesting seeing the different standards for the first women in these positions, compared to the standards for the men. I expect it was much like this in many fields as women broke into them. This book might inspire high school and college women to a career in the Secret Service. It sounds extremely interesting, but also very hard and takes a lot of commitment to put your life on the line like the job requires.
January 25, 2019
I heard the author speak in Florida at church gathering and enjoyed her story so purchased her book.
What an interesting biography full of firsts for Sue.
First female Secret Service. She was guard to Princess of Monaco at a Pocono Camp , she met Shirley Temple, became friends with Eleanor McGovern, was body guard to Shirley Chisholm and others.
The experiences she had were some she never dreamed of while being a pioneer in her field.
What an interesting biography full of firsts for Sue.
First female Secret Service. She was guard to Princess of Monaco at a Pocono Camp , she met Shirley Temple, became friends with Eleanor McGovern, was body guard to Shirley Chisholm and others.
The experiences she had were some she never dreamed of while being a pioneer in her field.
August 15, 2020
Behind the Shades is a short book that chronicles Sue Ann Baker in her four years as a Secret Service Agent. The remarkable thing about this story is that she was one of the first women agents, entrusted with ongoing the protection details of many, many famous people. It certainly displays the great sacrifice that these agents make, being ready at a moments notice to work hard and travel far with many sleepless days. I am amazed at all of her adventures in such a short time. She was really a trend setter for women in the service. She was a pioneer who paved the way for many more capable female agents.
August 21, 2017
An interesting and fun read; learning about the life a one of the first woman secret service agent, back in the early 1970's. Sue Ann Baker walks us through history and down memory lane, in a world without cell phones.
September 4, 2018
This was a really good read. I very much enjoyed reading about Sue Ann Bakers time in the Secret Service, as one of the first 5 women ever hired.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews