Life Inside the Bubble

Why a Top-Ranked Secret Service Agent Walked Away from It All

By: Dan Bongino

Narrated by: Mark F. Smith

Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

He swore to take a bullet for the President and left it all behind to take a bullet for the American people. Why would a successful, twelve-year Secret Service agent resign his position in the prime of his career to run for political office against all the odds?

New York Times bestseller, Life Inside the Bubble is an intimate look at life inside the presidential "bubble," a haze of staffers, consultants, cronies, acolytes, bureaucrats and lobbyists that creates the "alternate reality" in which monumental policy decisions are made. And it is the story of a dedicated Secret Service professional who, after years inside the "bubble," walked away in favor of sounding a clarion call to the American people in defense of sane government and the U.S. Constitution.

Finally, why the Fast & Furious scandal, the bombings in Boston and the terrorist attacks in Benghazi are harbingers of what's to come without a bold change in direction.

Take the journey with Dan Bongino from the tough streets of New York City where he was raised, and later patrolled as a member of the NYPD, to the White House as a member of the elite Presidential Protective Division, through his ultimate decision to resign from the Secret Service - during the Obama Administration - in the prime of his career to run for the United States Senate against the feared Maryland Democratic machine. Follow his experiences inside the Washington, D.C., matrix and discover why a government filled with some incredibly dedicated people nevertheless continues to make such frequent and tragic mistakes.

©2013 Dan Bongino (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Tales from a whining baby!

The one theme that ties this book together is incessant whining. I lost all respect for the author and interest in the book when he started vociferously complaining about how he wasted a week of his life because his Indonesia trip got cancelled after he had started working on it. Get over it. That is part of the job. It is part of every job in every field.

Reading this book has lowered my opinion of the Secret Service, especially if this immature whimpering author is the cream of the crop there as he claims to be.

Overall its a boring book

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

If the story involved something that was not public knowledge, or some other way of differentiating the story .

What could Dan Bongino have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The most annoying part was the work up to an event ( ... something that changed my life forever, ... etc..etc..) There are a number of situations Dan described in the book, he worked them up as if something earth shattering was coming next, only to continue on without any further explanation.

See American Sniper for a good story telling style and a gripping story as an example.

Any additional comments?

My expectations were to gain an inside look, but everything in this book is out there in one way shape or form.
Maybe it was the style of narration. Something didn`t click about this book.
Maybe a little humor would have helped.

Great read

Having a firsthand look at the inner workings of government was eye opening. Having listened to Dan on Fox made me curious how he came to leave the Secret Service. Every chance I got to listen w/o interruptions was grabbed. Thanks for sharing your story.

more self promotion than Secret Service insights.

was looking for more insightful info on Presidential Secret Service... I wasn't happy with the integration of his political bias (even though I follow the same ideology), and felt that it was geared too much on his personal pursuits rather than info about working on Presidential Secret Service Deta8il.

Excellent.

Thank you for your service! I look forward to your continued service in elected office, one day.

Don't bother

This is my first review of any books that I have purchased but I had to make a review of this book.
The writer gave very little info entering the secret service and when he did he just said they don't like whiners or complainers. I was surprised that he even wrote a book saying he was in the secret service since he only did 12 years.
I swear the only reason he named it secret service is that readers would think this was an interesting book. He only wanted to name it that so people would read about himself running for I believe senator.
Don't waste your money on this.

Great content, horrible delivery

Narration was robotic and mostly monotone. Inflections and pronunciations were often misplaced. The story itself was informative and entertaining.

Fascinating inside look!

I found this book to be a fascinating look from the inside of the government. I like that he was able to provide a view from the inside while not being personally invested in the decision loop. Great book!

Fascinating book

This was a fascinating book. I enjoyed hearing about Dan's work with the Secret Service and the evolution of his career. I think Dan is a great speaker too so I would have enjoyed him narrating his own story.

Disappointing platform for author's beliefs

This book was a little bit about life inside the secret service and a lot about how the author thinks the government should be run.