Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford

by Clint Hill, Lisa McCubbin Hill

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Mrs. Kennedy and Me and Five Days in November reflects on his seventeen years on the Secret Service for presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford.The assassination of one president, the resignation of another, and the swearing-in of the two who followed those traumatic events. Clint Hill was there, on duty, through Five Presidents.After an extraordinary career as a Special Agent on the White House Detail, Clint Hill retired in 1975. His career spanned the administrations of Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, and Gerald R. Ford. A witness to some of the most pivotal moments in the twentieth century, Hill lets you walk in his shoes alongside the most powerful men in the world during tumultuous times in America’s history—the Cold War; the Cuban Missile Crisis; the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy; the Vietnam War; Watergate; and the resignations of Vice President Spiro Agnew and President Nixon.It was indeed a turbulent time—and through it all, Clint Hill had a unique insider perspective. His fascinating stories will shed new light on the character and personality of each of these five presidents, as Hill witnesses their human sides in the face of grave decisions.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Politics, Presidents, Audiobook

Kindle Edition

First published May 3, 2016

About the author

Clinton J. Hill was a U.S. Secret Service agent who served under five United States presidents, from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Gerald Ford. Hill was best known for his act of bravery on November 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
During the assassination, Hill ran into the line of fire from the Secret Service followup car, leaped onto the back of the presidential car, and shielded the stricken president and the First Lady with his own body as the car raced to Parkland Memorial Hospital. His act was documented in film footage by Abraham Zapruder. Following the death of Nellie Connally in 2006, Hill was the last surviving person who was inside the presidential limousine that day.

Reviews

[David Huff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most will remember Secret Service Agent Clint Hill from the hauntingly iconic photo of him climbing on the back of the Presidential Limousine in Dallas, that fateful November day, to lend assistance and protection to the First Lady, and sadly seconds too late, to President Kennedy. This is a riveting read and a unique panorama of three decades of history that wrought great change in America. Hill's personal accounts of five different Presidents, their families, lifestyle, personalities, challenges and travels are well worth the time!

[JwW White · Rating 1 out of 5]

Clint Hill was a witness to so much history (and uses a ghostwriter), so it is a travesty that he makes that history so completely listless in this book. The text reads like a rundown of the official White House log of the President during those times that Hill was on duty. It appears that in trying to write this book, Hill used those logs to provide the bulk of his material. How much can one read about the date and time that the President traveled to certain places, that he was warmly received, and that the Secret Service was there (doing what in particular one does not know from this book)? This book makes high school history textbooks seem lively! There are no insights into the presidents but instead are laudatory tributes that have become cliche. Hill's unquestioning admiration for Eisenhower, for instance, makes the reader question whether or not Hill has at any time since 1960 contemplated the true success of the man as president (e.g., Eisenhower's focus on getting in his golf every day, his refusal to take on McCarthy, his refusal to address civil rights, his duplicity in promoting the U.S . as the moral center of the earth while spying on enemies and supporting dictators like Franco, the Shah of Iran, Batista, etc.). The writing--whether Hill's or belonging to his collaborator--is completely lacking in energy, nuance, or self-reflection. It cannot be easy to describe working so closely (in terms of physical presence) to five modern U.S. Presidents and make it so boring. But this book certainly does.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four and one half stars.

I have read Mr. Hill's previous book- Five Days in November and was fascinated by his eyewitness account of JFK's murder and the days that followed.

This book repeats some of the same material, but most of his recollections are fresh and very insightful. Mr. Hill reveals the following truths about the Office of the President:
There is no perfect individual who possesses every single characteristic to be in this position. Most have great qualities that enhance the position.

All Presidents have enormous egos and their need for adulation and adoration can place them in very vulnerable and unsafe situations.

Politics is dirty business and there can be some very dirty dealing going on - right out in the open, or behind closed doors.

Mr. Hill and all Secret Service agents were paid a pittance for putting their lives on the line, leaving their families for 360 per year, and paying for their own accommodations when away from the White House.
They deserve our humble appreciation and respect.

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford was an extraordinary book about the time as told by Special Agent in the United States Secret Service, Clint Hill. His seventeen years in the Secret Service spanned the period that encompassed the U-2 spy incident; the Cold War; the Cuban Missile Crisis; the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy; the civil rights movement, riots and burning of major U.S. cities; the Vietnam War; Watergate; and the resignations of Vice President Spiro T. Agnew and President Richard Nixon.

And as Clint Hill says, he and his talented writing partner Lisa McCubbin tried to bring history to life through his experiences. And as he states so eloquently, during the period that Hill was part of the Secret Service he had a unique opportunity to witness history in the making. It was a significant time of change in U.S. history, as we moved from the bucolic fifties to the turbulent sixties and seventies. As Hill notes, he saw the strengths and weaknesses of these five men as each wrestled with life and death decisions. One can only stress that as we choose our next commander in chief, we must learn from the mistakes and successes of our past presidents.

All of these five men impacted Clint Hill is deep and very different ways. In reading the book, I think he was most deeply affected by the assassination of John F. Kennedy, later being assigned to the detail of protecting Jacqueline Kennedy and her children. But in the telling of this story, I was most affected by the section on Lyndon Johnson and his profound effect on the country. One of my favorite quotations by Clint Hill regarding President Johnson:

“From the moment he took office on November 22, 1963, President Johnson was a man on a mission, determined to use his powerful position to create a better life for all Americans, in all aspects of their lives, and by the end of 1965 his administration would pass more transformative legislation than most presidents achieve in their entire terms. His vision for a Great Society and his War on Poverty were not just rhetoric; he proved that strong leadership, combined with knowledge of the political system, could indeed effect change.”

[Leo · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I started to listen to this I thought it was going to be high rating when it finished. But after as while I found the story telling tedious. Didn't like how he explained the events and it felt more like a bragging book more then a serious non fiction. I guess I wanted to much when I thought the book would be more grounded in facts and not a praise parade. Didn't get far into it but gave it an honest try. It wasn't wrong that he enjoyed his work by any means but didn't feel like an non fiction either. It's a memoir after all so I should probably have known it

[Raymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as his other books on the Kennedys. I thought the author, Clint Hill, focused too much of his stories on the more technical side of being part of the US Secret Services. It was interesting reading about the author physically being present at some of the most important events in history. However, the way the events were presented, I felt the book read somewhat like a boring high school textbook. This book definitely lack the charms & fascination of his books on the Kennedys… I would recommend readers to skip this one & just read Clint Hill’s other books.

[Melissa Embry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first met Clint Hill in 2013 when he and co-author, Lisa McCubbin, visited Dallas for a book signing during commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Hill was famous as the Secret Service agent who had leaped onto the back of the presidential limousine on its breakneck journey to Parkland Hospital following the shooting that killed Kennedy, and he and McCubbin had written a book about his role and the days immediately following.

I didn’t know that that Hill had served as a secret service agent under four presidents in addition to Kennedy, who form the basis of the most recent book by the Hill-McCubbin team, Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford. I first listened to the audiobook version, then grabbed a hardcopy to enjoy the wealth of photos it included.

“I never had any intention of becoming a Secret Service agent.” Hill writes near the beginning of Five Presidents. Born and brought up in small town North Dakota, he was placed for adoption by his birth mother and raised by Chris and Jennie Hill, who gave him, by his account, “a wonderful childhood.” He was an all-round athlete and looked forward to a career as a high school history teacher and athletic coach following marriage to his college sweetheart and graduation from church-affiliated Concordia College.

Then life intervened, in the form of a draft notice during the Korean conflict and training as an Army counterintelligence agent. He happened to be conducting investigations in Aurora, Colorado, in early 1955 when President Eisenhower was hospitalized for a heart attack. There he met members of the president’s secret service and was impressed enough to apply for a job with the Secret Service after leaving the Army.

Five Presidents isn’t for anyone seeking out the dirty little secrets of presidential lives. There are no presidential assignations here, no tales about political in-fighting. Hill’s gentlemanly professionalism remains impeccable, even while noting Dwight Eisenhower’s golfing profanity (seldom heard off the greens), or Lyndon Johnson’s boisterous crudity. Although he never warmed up to Richard Nixon (or Nixon to him), he found Nixon’s disgraced first vice president, Spiro Agnew, personally affable, and sympathized with the decision of Nixon’s second vice president (and later president) Gerald Ford not to pursue legal charges against Nixon following his resignation.

Hill recounts an array of anecdotes, hilarious, tragic, personal and profound. He was at the side of presidents during the U-2 spy plane incident that marred the end of Eisenhower’s administration; the Cuban missile crisis that was almost the undoing of Kennedy’s; Kennedy’s assassination and the turmoil of the civil rights movement and Vietnam war that marred Johnson’s terms; the Watergate investigation, and the resignations of both Nixon and Agnew.

“There is no doubt that the assassination of President Kennedy was a defining moment for me, and it would affect me on many levels for the rest of my life,” Hill writes in Five Presidents. “I was thrust onto the pages of history, but it has often bothered me that I would be remembered solely for my actions on that one day. For there was much that led up to that moment, and much that followed.”

Ultimately, the physical and psychological aftermath of the assassination, reawakened by a subsequent assassination attempt on President Ford, led Hill to retire. He remained, by his own account, “mired in depression,” until an interview with journalist Lisa McCubbin, and their subsequent coauthorship of their first book, Mrs. Kennedy and Me, and its followup, Five Days in November, exorcised the painful memories.

Now, Hill can write, “People often ask me, if I had it to do over again, would I become a Secret Service agent? Without hesitation, my answer is always the same. ‘I’d be working right now if they’d let me. It was the best damn job in the world.’”

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Hill encapsulated history he lived and protected through the existence of 5 American Presidents. This is a compelling read for anyone interested in Presidential History. On this, the eve of the election of 2016 I was determined to attempt to read one book apolitical in nature; but, one that also captured the moral ethics of what it means to be a "diligent servant of the people". Mr. Hill is to American History most notable for his attempted protection of First Lady Jackie Kennedy on that fateful day of 22 November 1963; and, yet in this book we see so much more to the man who attempted to maintain a quiet presence in the backdrops during some of the most heated moments of the Cold War and other events to include the tragedy of the JFK assassination.

Outside of the Mike Wallace interview of 1975 - Mr. Hill never spoke of the assassination of President Kennedy. The interview was conducted after he was forced to medically retire. True to himself and humble for person he is, his confidence and abilities as a written account to this memoir and history of the same are second to none. Mr. Hill represents what truly good Federal Employees do for their country on a daily basis. Where society (generally speaking) jokes about those in public service as somehow "gaining" and being "lazy" - Mr. Hill's efforts in his career and efforts displays a true presence of mind and shows that myths are to be debunked through actions. He never mentions this sort of societal disgruntlement in his book - he shares the professional and apolitical efforts of a job that needed (and still needs) to be done and accomplished in an apolitical manner. When Mr. Hill was a Secret Service Agent the Agency fell under the Department of the Treasury; Post 9/11 the Agency today is a part of the Department of Homeland Security. Many of us in the Department of Homeland Security do many things quietly to ensure the safety of the public and the sovereignty of the United States continues.

I will not print here the tragedies that changed the last half of the 20th century; I will say that from the time Mr. Hill became a Secret Service Agent during the Eisenhower years to the time he was forced to medically retire during the tenure of President Ford's Administration that globally we witness the love people had for Ike and the USA had all but disappeared by the time we get to the era of President Ford.

If you are looking for an apolitical book in this day and age of pure craziness, and you have an interest in American Leadership - this book will give you a birds eye view of the realities behind the scenes. Outside of the Department of Defense there are many Federal Departments - persons who work diligently, keep faith, struggle on, and see things that never make the news and they themselves are rarely thanked if ever - these men and women will not become President - they merely do what they believe and do it with a conscience of tax payers efforts to invest in their Government. 21st century Politicians should take note and nay sayers should beware.

[Camille · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I had not lived through these presidential terms I would have not finished this book, as it is written as if it is a Secret Service report - flat. It gave me a behind the scenes look at events and daily happenings that I had followed in the newspapers, magazines and TV reports though so I stuck with it. If the writing flowed better or gave me a sense of feelings instead of doings, I would be reaching for his other books. It disappointments me to be saying I won't.

[Katie Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book! Clint Hill is the Secret Service Agent who helped Jackie get off the trunk and back into the car when JFK was shot. He was forever changed by that day. It was fascinating to read about his experiences with 5 different Presidents and his role in the Secret Service with each of them. He gave up so much of his own life to serve our leaders. He witnessed so much history.

This isn't a juicy tell-all kind of book, this is a first person accounting of what it was like to be serving and protecting the various Presidents and their families. I've already purchased his other two books and I can't wait to read them!

[Anthony Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

So interesting! The stretch of history covered here is one of my favourites and Clint Hill was right there for some of the key moments! And what a charming and engaging narrator he is to those events. My favourite element was the lbj section, and hill really brings this extraordinary character to life.

[Dean Cummings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even if Clint Hill’s career had not spanned eighteen years and five history-making presidency’s, his exceptional experiences as an agent of the United States Secret Service would have been more than sufficient to write a compelling autobiography.

He grew up in the small town of Washburn, North Dakota where sports and the Lutheran Church were the centers of all activity. After High School, and on the strength of a $100 scholarship, Clint enrolled in Lutheran-affiliated Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. Once there, Clint wasted very little time, first he married fellow college student Gwen Brown in 1953 and graduated college in 1954.

Fresh out of college, he was quickly drafted into the U.S. Army where he would begin basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, where among other things, he took several written intelligence tests. Clint scored well and upon completion of basic training, was transferred to Fort Holabird in Dundalk, Maryland. There he would attend Army Intelligence School, receiving training as a counterintelligence agent. Clint threw himself into his training and soon he demonstrated a superior instinct in the areas of investigation, surveillance and interrogation techniques. After only four months at Fort Holabird, Clint was assigned to the Region IX 113th Counterintelligence Corps (CIC) Field Office in Denver, Colorado. There his work consisted mainly of processing security clearances for the U.S. Government. His clearance was already “Top Secret.”

Clint was honorably discharged from the army in 1957 and after that he found work first as a credit investigator for a credit company, then later a railroad detective with the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. But he was always intrigued by the U.S. Secret Service, so he decided to apply and was soon hired as a Secret Service agent in the Denver Field Office on September 22, 1958. Once in the service, Clint found out that he would get a shot at White House Detail, in the Presidential Protective Division (PPD) when his evaluation period came up. For Clint, that evaluation came after only six months as an agent. This initial evaluation was a one month trial test where he would work as a White House agent. If he was sufficiently impressive, he might have a chance at getting on White House Detail.

His fellow agents and his immediate supervisors were pleased with Clint’s training performance and as a result, he was transferred from Denver to the White House Detail effective November 1, 1959.

Clint’s rapid rise in the service, was not by way of office politics, neither did he play the “star” role as some kind of super-agent. Instead, he proudly lived by the Secret Service code of honor, “Worthy of Trust and Confidence.” In essence, it was a combination of his skills, talents dedication and personal character that moved him towards his goals so quickly.

But that’s just the beginning of the story.

As I mentioned above, Clint Hill served as a Special Agent for five U.S. Presidents. I was amazed by the incredible stories Clint Shared about his service to each of these presidents. Here is my favorite of his adventures, listed below, president, by president:

President Dwight Eisenhower – Secret Service Code-Name: “Providence”

In the opening chapters of the book, Hill shares stories of his early days in the Secret Service, reminiscing as he recalls the events of President Eisenhower’s “Eleven Nation Tour,” which was a series of official visits to countries in Europe, The Middle East and North Africa, a nineteen day presidential excursion, covering eleven nations and an amazing 22,000 miles. Hill shared so many unbelievable stories but the first one to really stand out for me was his memory of the seemingly never ending “Persian rug road” that the motorcade drove over as they entered the cheering city of Tehran, Iran. Hill says this of the experience:

“As we neared the city, suddenly the road turned red. Huge, intricately woven Persian rugs had been placed end to end in the street – dozens of them for hundreds of yards – creating the largest and most beautiful welcome mat you can imagine. It seemed a shame to me that the motorcycles and cars drove right over these magnificent works of art, but that is exactly what we did. Talk about rolling out the red carpet.”

I tried to visualize the scene, the almost deafening volume of the people’s cheering in stark contrast to the soft, muffled report of tires driving on a plush road of exquisite carpet. Unbelievable!
But if I thought that story was unforgettable, Hill’s description of the scene that unfolded as the President’s motorcade approached the city of Casablanca, Morocco was absolutely astonishing!
Here’s what he shared:

“As we exited the air base, it felt like we were driving through a movie set for the ‘Arabian Nights.’ The streets were lined with people of all ages, dressed in traditional Moroccan attire – women in long robes and headscarves of all colors, with white kerchiefs veiled across their faces, wailing with a shrill noise that sounded like ‘luh-luh-luh-luh-luh,’ while scraggly-bearded men, also in long robes, each with a dagger at his waist, cheered and waved.

But most striking of all were the Berber tribesmen – hundreds of them – who had ridden from their villages on horseback and were galloping along the roadside, firing rifles into the air as they lined up in formation to welcome the American president.”

Wow! Did that vivid description ever get my imagination going! I envisaged the tribesmen standing high and proud in the stirrups, gleaming rifles firing into the sky, just as their robes flapped in the wind, their brave row of driving steeds leaving a long plume of dust in their rambling wake. All the while, the president waves to the gallant men, a wide smile on his face as he fleetingly recalls his own days as a spirited, adventurous younger man. The president is in closer proximity than his protectors are comfortable with, but all of that seems momentarily lost in the moment of jubilation as the sea of smiling, joyous faces cheers as loudly as their lungs will allow.

I may have an overactive imagination, but that was the image that Hills story catalyzed in my mind.

President John F. Kennedy – Secret Service Code-Name: “Lancer”

Under Kennedy’s Administration, Clint Hill was not actually assigned to the president himself, but rather to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy – “Lace” and their two small children: Caroline – “Lyric” who was only about three and a half years old, and John – “Lark” who was just a couple months old when the Kennedy’s entered the White House.

By virtue of the fact that Hill was assigned directly to Mrs. Kennedy, he was often in close association with the president himself. The former agent shared many stores about his fantastic experiences with President Kennedy, I’ll pick out a couple that really stood out for me.

Clint’s stories about JFK ranged from the humorous, such as the time Hill physically shifted the president’s sailboat “Victura” off a rock shoal, slipping and smashing his groin on a rock in the process. Unbeknownst to Clint a photographer was nearby and snapped a picture of the “rescue.” Kennedy heard about the picture being taken, got on sent to him and wrote the following message on it:

“For Clint Hill: ‘The Secret Service are prepared for all hazards.” – John F. Kennedy

Hill was astonished when a couple days later the grinning president presented him with the photo.
His stories of President Kennedy could also be grand in scale, and usually inspiring. One of the many he told was of JFK’s trip to Berlin. The Berlin Wall had been built, a symbolic affront to the freedom and liberty Kennedy spoke about so often. One particularly dramatic moment came when the president viewed the Wall itself:

“President Kennedy stood atop the viewing platform at Checkpoint Charlie and peered over the wall. On the other side, hundreds of Communist police stood on guard with submachine guns, and behind them were at least a thousand people who had come to see President Kennedy, and they stood there waving scarves and handkerchiefs with tears in their eyes.”

Hill tells us that the president stood there for four minutes, looking back at the imprisoned people who were looking back at him. Afterward, he described that experience:

“Let me tell you, those were the longest four minutes of my life.”

Hill’s telling President Kennedy’s surprise 46th Birthday party, his last, was also very moving.

Hill’s experiences with Mrs. Kennedy were more powerful than I ever could have imagined. This trust, confidence and admiration was built day-by-day, situation by situation during the time her husband was president. But the amazing intensity of Jacqueline Kennedy’s affection for Clint Hill really came to light through the things that happened after the assassination of her husband. The first surprise Hill got was on Air Force One, the flight from Dallas back to Washington, when he was watching President Kennedy’s casket. He was somber, sitting in that small section of the airplane cabin, when suddenly another agent informed him that the First Lady was in the presidential cabin, asking to see him. Clint entered the cabin and was face to face with the grief stricken Jacqueline Kennedy:

“Yes, Mrs. Kennedy, what can I do for you?” He softly asked.

She was still in her pink suit, encrusted with blood, she walked toward me and grasped my hands:
“What’s going to happen to you now, Mr. Hill?” She asked, looking at him intently.

Hill recalls clenching his jaw and swallowing hard, “How could she be thinking about me on a day like today? He asked himself, incredibly moved in that moment.

“I’ll be okay, Mrs. Kennedy,” He managed to say, “I’ll be okay.”

That was a pivotal moment that Hill never forgot. As it turned out, President Johnson authorized a one year extension of Secret Service protection for Mrs. Kennedy, Caroline and John. The former First Lady was free to choose any agents she wanted for her detail, and she immediately said she wanted Clint Hill with her. Soon the family moved from Washington D.C. to New York City, the address was 1040 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The year Hill spent with Jacqueline, Caroline and John was one of shared mutual grief, but also a time where those who were closest to each other grew to be even closer.

Soon, the year was up and Clint Hill was reassigned to President Lyndon Johnson’s detail. Much to the agent’s surprise, Mrs. Kennedy threw a going away party for him. She’d made a banner, which was displayed at the party. It depicted a cut out picture of an anonymous Secret Service Agent wearing sunglasses, and emblazoned across it were the words:

“MUDDY GAP WYOMING WELCOMES ITS NEWEST CITIZEN.”

It was indicative of Jacqueline Kennedy’s humor, insinuating that Hill was being sent to some remote town in the middle of nowhere. She and all the other staff at the party signed their names.
Mrs. Kennedy then handed Hill a three-ring binder that she had titled:

“The Travels of Clinton J. Hill.”

It was a scrapbook she’d put together for him, filled with photos that chronicled the four years that she and Hill spent together – a priceless memento of the good times. A reminder that there had been good days before that one dreadful day.

In and of themselves, these would be incredibly emotional stories to read, but even more so as I considered the climactic and momentous period of time in which they took place.

President Lyndon B. Johnson – Secret Service Code-Name: “Volunteer”

In order to give you a taste of what it was like to be a Secret Service Agent assigned to President Johnson, I’ll just say this:

It’s 4:30 a.m. on December 24, 1967. The president and his exhausted staff have followed the president to such far flung locales as: Australia, Thailand, Pakistan, Vietnam and Italy.
And it all happened in five days.

In those five days, Johnson attended a funeral, was received by the Pope and met with countless heads of state.

And at five o’clock in the morning, United States Secret Service Agent, Clint Hill is watching over President Johnson as he picks up a few Christmas gifts at the base gift store.

And he’s doing it in his pajamas.

The “LBJ” chapters of the book are filled with stories like this. You’ll have to read it for yourself!
But on a more serious note, Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency was marked with some very serious gains in the areas of civil rights, social justice and democratic reform. From a legislative standpoint, the pinnacle of his achievements were the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Although history generally presents these great legislative achievements within the national context, for the purposes of Hill’s highly personal account of the Johnson presidency, it seems more fitting to see these achievements from the personal standpoint. One of my favorite reflections of the day that President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law was a story that his daughter, Luci Baines Johnson shared. She was by her father’s side on that day, here’s what she had to say:

“I was standing right behind my father on that day in 1965 when he signed the Voting Rights Act into law. As a young adolescent – I probably had a date that afternoon – I said, ‘Daddy, why are we going up to the halls of Congress, why aren’t we just signing it here in the East Room?’ My father shook his head and said, ‘Oh, Luci, don’t you get it? We’re going up to the halls of Congress because the Congress will never look the same again as a result of the courageous decisions that these men and women are making. Some who are here today will not be here again because they dared to support the Voting Rights Act. And some who will be coming would never have had the opportunity but for this act.’ And that has been the case…”

Johnson was famous, and to some notorious for the pressure tactics he used to get this bill passed. Of that I have no doubt. But after reading Clint Hill’s close up accounts of the great “heart” of President Johnson, I also now appreciate that it was also his passion, dedication and determination that made these great acts a reality.

The stories Hill shares have helped to broaden my perspective of important historical milestones, and the strength and determination of the men and women behind them.

President Richard M. Nixon – Secret Service Code-Name: “Searchlight”

At 4:30 one morning, President Richard Nixon called and asked for a car, telling his aid that he wanted to be driven to The Lincoln Memorial. He’d found out that there were a small group of college age protesters gathered at the memorial, and he wanted to go visit with them.

Hill describes it as “shocking” from a security standpoint. I can only imagine!

Before the Watergate scandal, President Nixon had accomplished some very major achievements. For the purposes of this book, told from the standpoint of a man who made his entire career in the business of security, Nixon’s trip to China stood out as a daunting task for those assigned to protect him. Hill describes Nixon’s trip to China as “The most complex arrangements for any presidential trip ever.”

Hill’s telling of how the Watergate Scandal unfolded, from the perspective of the United States Secret Service was almost unbelievable.

As I read Clint Hill’s account of his time with President Nixon, I felt his distaste for the 37th President of the United States. The most telling line came when Hill was coming to grips with the reality that the Nixon White House was attempting to assign a certain Secret Service agent to Senator Ted Kennedy’s protection detail in the hopes that that particular agent would spy on the senator. This was what Hill had to say about how he felt about Nixon’s conduct in this matter:

“This request, although it did not come directly from the president, obviously emanated from him. It sullied the office and gave me an insight into the character of the man in it.”

President Gerald R. Ford – Secret Service Code-Name: “Passkey”

Although President Ford’s time in office was brief, Clint Hill had a couple of very interesting stories to share. One was on the subject of the Ford’s pardoning of former President Nixon on September 8, 1974 and the other was the Ford assassination attempt on September 5, 1975.

In summary, Clint Hill’s “Five Presidents” was a very enlightening and engaging read. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in gaining a unique perspective on the historical events of the 1950’s to the 1970’s.

[Daniel Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of history from a man close to the presidency of Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, Nixon and Ford. He was a primary witness to the JFK assassination. He is able to tell us about each president’s personality and character, and does so.

[Kenny Dickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a quick interesting read. While most know Clint Hill for his heroic efforts to reach and save JFK by climbing on the back of the limo during the assassination, most don't know about his service to 4 other presidents. By serving on the details of Ike, JFK,/Jackie, LBJ and administrating PPD for Nixon and Ford, Hill was on the front row witnessing some of the most tumultuous times in postwar America. Hill gives respectful presentations of the five presidents, their quirks and strengths. He also offers insight into the historical times, events, and ramifications of their decision. The chapter on LBJ and his travel and demeanor are worth the cost of the book.

[John Smiley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book.

It was interesting to get a behind the scenes look at the way our President's life is guarded, and the sometimes foolhardy things the President does to put his own life in danger (ie JFK in 1963).

I was amazed at the hard work Lyndon Johnson put it---of the 5 Presidents highlighted, he seemed to be the one that drove himself most to exhaustion.

All 5 of them (Eisenhower, JFK, Johnson, Nixon, Ford) worked hard, but Johnson was really something else.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

If not for the events of November 22, 1963, would this book even exist?

Clint Hill, the agent seen rushing to Jackie Kennedy as she climbed onto the back of the car in Dallas, teamed up with journalist Lisa McCubbin to tell of his experiences in twenty years protecting the presidents. Spending more time with the families of the presidents in those twenty years than his own family, he reveals the demands of the Secret Service in honest detail.

A bit repetitive in the early chapters, as one adoring international crowd leads to another, Five Presidents is well worth completing, as it ends in disappointment, grief, and disgrace rather than adoration. The opening chapter’s title sets up a murder-mystery and conjures Marilyn Monroe, only to quickly remind the reader that the book begins with President Eisenhower, and introduces Ike’s octogenarian mother in Denver, Colorado.

The vastly different personalities of the featured five presidents make for an intriguing contrast, but the domineering LBJ occupies much of the text. Hill’s assignments varied during his tenure, and rarely placed him on the president’s protective detail, but he was at Johnson’s side—and ranch—for much of the latter’s time in office.

As a fun supplement to presidential biographies, or as an intro to the genre, Five Presidents presents the lifestyle of presidents from a perspective seldom accessed: That of the men and women not meant to be seen or heard, unless there is an emergency. Out of the background and up from Zapruder’s film, Clint Hill shows us the presidency through his eyes.

[Ian Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fascinating story of retired Secret Service agent Clint Hill. He is most remembered for being the man who climbed onto the back of John F. Kennedy's Presidential Limousine moments too late on November 22, 1963. The book is about as straightforward as it can get, chronologically providing a detailed overview of the ups and downs Clint faced while serving for five different presidents from 1958-1975. What made the reading experience fascinating for me was not only the historical moments he witnessed first hand but also the personal experiences he shared with some of the most prominent leaders in history. His closest relationships were with Kennedy and Johnson, due in part from his lower rank and limited time with Eisenhower and his assignment to the Vice President when Nixon took office. In comparison, it doesn't include much on Gerald Ford because Clint retired early on in Ford's term. Five Presidents made me feel exhausted at times simply from the amount of stress, traveling, and lack of sleep the USSS deals with on a daily basis. It also depicts how underpaid and underappreciated they are, putting others safety in front of their own and sacrificing so much of their personal lives. The most recognition they get is when something, often out of their control, goes wrong. The book covers key historic events from the perspective of someone working closely with U.S. leaders involved. Some of these include the U-2 incident, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination and funeral of JFK, the 1960's Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, Apollo 11, and Watergate. For anyone that has an interest in United States history, this is a breeze to read while still offering an informative and touching narrative.

[Coleman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm 2 hours into the audio book and I think that's about enough.

Clint Hill spends the entire time talking about all the neat trips he took off-duty. Did you know he escorted president Eisenhower to India, Pakistan, and Italy? Apparently the only thing worth noting is that they were warmly received and that Clint got a free tour of the vatican. When Eisenhower wasn't traveling, he was playing golf, which Clint describes in great detail about how he would hit 18 holes every week, and would take trips to Augusta where the Masters is played. Ever heard of the Masters? Of course you have, but Clint still feels the need to explain it for several paragraphs.

I couldn't even make it to Kennedy. This whole book is 15 hours of WHO CARES.

[Larry Van Bibber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book with many auto biographical references and facts that have not been described in other references. This book read like a novel in that it was easy to understand and hard to put down. I read it in two days.

I grew up in that era and like everyone else I had an awareness of the key events. I know exactly where I was and what I was doing when JFK was assassinated. I was never a big fan of LBJ and I was surprised about his passions and concerns for our country.

I will read this book again.

[Leslie Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Part memoir, part history lesson.

[Jodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The history this man has seen - it’s extraordinary beyond belief. As Clint Hill relates his memories of serving 5 different Presidents, and the change of society over time, it provided a fascinating and sobering outlook on America of the 1950s-1970s.

[Gelane Diamond · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Jady Babin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been sitting on my bookshelf for too long and I am so glad I finally picked it up.
‘Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford’, by Clint Hill with Lisa McCubbin is outstanding!
Clint Hill, serving in the Secret Service until his retirement in 1975, gives us a raw and honest look into his life during those dedicated years.
We are given just enough detail to learn about each president’s personality, the world events of the times and the deep responsibilities of the secret service - on both a professional and personal level.

I can’t say enough about how much I loved and learned from this book. Being born when Johnson was president, I was a young child during the events of these times. It was interesting to hear about them from a new viewpoint, beyond what I overheard as a child, or was taught in school.

I looked forward to picking this book up every chance I got.
5 very big ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Joy H.]

Added July 12, 2018
(Published May 3rd 2016 by Gallery Books)
Narrated by: George Newbern

I started reading this book July 12, 2018, as an ebook in my browser.
(It's an OverDrive library loan from SALS, the Southern Adirondack Library System.)

Sept 5, 2019 - I'm continuing to read this e-book.

Clint Hill "reflects on his seventeen years on the Secret Service for presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford." (from Goodreads description)

============================
Other books I have read of this nature are as follows:

The First Family Detail: Secret Service Agents Reveal the Hidden Lives of the Presidents
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Mrs. Kennedy and Me: An Intimate Memoir BY Clint Hill
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an autobiographical depiction of Clint Hill's career as a member of the United States Secret Service Presidential Protection Detail. As the title suggests his service tenure included working with Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford. For those of you who have seen the
news film covering the assassination of President Kennedy, Clint Hill is the Secret Service agent seen climbing up on the back of the presidential limousine in an attempt to cover the bodies of President and Mrs. Kennedy with his own. This is a very interesting book and it gives the reader a good feel for life in the oval office, White House in general and other venues.

[Don Gorman · Rating 3 out of 5]

(2 1/2). This is a longish, 20+ year history lesson with lots of insights. Clint Hill is now on his third book capitalizing on his time as a Secret Service agent. When he gives us the logistics, the inside scoop, the personal touches that he or others had with people they were protecting this book is terrific. But unfortunately, a fair amount of it is just recounting the actual events of the day, and that is old news and can get tedious. It was great to revisit some of the events and certainly a reasonable read.

[Sharon Royle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great chance for those of us who are so interested in American history to find out what presidents are really like. Clint Hill protected presidents from Eisenhower to Nixon. To find out what these men were really like and the sacrifices that were made to protect them is amazing. They were all so different from each other and these Secret Service men had to adjust to each man's needs and demands.

Although I didn't select this book to read because of the current status of our president, the similarities between Nixon's problems and Trump's problems are shockingly similar.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first book by Clint Hill. It was interesting and it is amazing the events that he witnessed. The assasination details are what you would expect but it was all the other things he witnessed that made this so interesting. It was a little slow when he talked about all the traveling. Not necessarily the places but every crownd was enormous and dangerous. It was just a bit repetitive.

[Kristen Dutkiewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clint Hill has lived quite a life having experienced first hand what it is like to protect five of our country's presidents/vice presidents. I loved every moment of reading his memoir and was sad to see it end.

I enjoyed his honesty, humor, and bluntness in this memoir. It was an engaging behind the scenes look at some of our nation's most well known history. Particularly touching were some of his personal memories. This book made me laugh and cry. Well done!

[Nancy Istenes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review after my book club discussion with The Wards. Absolutely give this book 5 stars. The perspective of the author gives us an inside view of the presidency, politics and an amazing period of American History.