Ronald Kessler, New York Times Bestselling Author

THE SECRETS OF THE FBI

I don’t know how the author Ronald Kessler does it, convincing some FBI agents to sing like canaries....reads like a spy novel.
—Washington Independent Review of Books

It seems unlikely that any investigative reporter can match Ronald Kessler’s credentials for unmasking FBI secrets: The revelations in his book The FBI: Inside the World's Most Powerful Law Enforcement Agency rocked the agency and led to the dismissal of Director William S. Sessions. In his latest project, the longtime Washington Post journalist not only provides the inside stories of how these stealthy operatives track down spies and terrorists; he also reveals celebrity secrets that the FBI have exposed in their investigations.
—Barnes and Noble

Author Ronald Kessler’s latest product, The Secrets of the FBI, could be said to be the most revealing book ever written about the nation’s chief law enforcement agency.
—The Missourian

IN THE PRESIDENT'S SECRET SERVICE

Behind the Scenes With Agents in the Line of Fire
and the Presidents They Protect

[A] fascinating exposé...high-energy read...amusing, saucy, often disturbing anecdotes about the VIPs the Secret Service has protected and still protects.....[accounts come] directly from current and retired agents (most identified by name, to Kessler's credit)....Balancing the sordid tales are the kinder stories of presidential humanity...[Kessler is a] respected journalist and former Washington Post reporter....an insightful and entertaining story.

—USA Today

Kessler's such a skilled storyteller, you almost forget this is dead-serious nonfiction.... An afterword reveals new details about Kessler's discovery of a third uninvited intruder during last year's White House State Dinner... The behind-the-scenes anecdotes are delightful, but Kessler has a bigger point to make, one concerning why the under-appreciated Secret Service deserves better leadership.
—Newsweek

Rips the lid off the inside world of Secret Service agents and the presidents they protect.
—New York Post

You have some incredible anecdotes here about the private moments [of the presidents].
—Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

This taut, true narrative about the agents who guard, and pledge to die for, the president of the United States recounts familiar plots and unveils never-released information about assassination attempts throughout our history. The author uses first-person accounts and previously classified information to weave together a nonfiction thriller.
—AudioFile

A very interesting look inside the FBI and CIA, which I think is unprecedented.
—Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

Ron Kessler destroys myths about the war on terror and provides an unprecedented, inside look at how the FBI and CIA go about the tough task of defeating terrorism and preserving our freedom.
—William H. Webster, former director of Central Intelligence and former director of the FBI

A powerful and brave book. Kessler makes it clear that if we win this war, it will be because of the FBI and CIA professionals who have protected America since 9/11. If we lose the war, it will be because of distortions by the mainstream media, those who leak operational secrets to them, and politicians who undermine those who are trying to protect us.
—R. James Woolsey, former director of Central Intelligence

Ron Kessler is unique in his ability and willingness to tell the unvarnished truth about what it will take to protect America from the next major terrorist attack. This is a book which every informed and responsible American should read.
—Robert Grenier, former director of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center

Ronald Kessler vividly tells the important story of the extraordinary efforts of those Americans who stand on guard protecting our nation in the war against Islamist extremism.
—Sen. Joseph Lieberman, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

If you like Michael Moore movies, don't buy Ronald Kessler's newest book. It does not heap scorn upon President George W. Bush. It does not inspire panic over "spy programs" that trample Americans' civil liberties. Nor does it sneer at American patriotism. Kessler's book celebrates the intelligence community's successes.
—New York Post

Kessler knows the national security bureaucracy well and enjoys access to key participants paralleled only by Bob Woodward.
—Booklist

Laura Bush is a remarkable woman—a great mother, daughter, and daughter-in-law, and, of course, first lady. The thing that makes this gentle, bright woman dearer than all of the above is that she makes the president, our son, happy. Ron Kessler does a great job of capturing the spirit of Laura Bush.
—Former First Lady Barbara Bush

Kessler spoke with friends of George and Laura Bush, including Laura's old boyfriends who had not previously spoken to the press. The result is a portrait of a modest, self-assured woman, who has a subtle influence on the Bush administration...Her admirers will relish this book...
—Booklist

Ronald Kessler's brilliant portrait of the White House years of George W. Bush is the gold standard by which all future biographies of this decent and principled president will be measured.
—Edward Klein, author of The Kennedy Curse and former editor-in-chief of The New York Times Magazine

Ronald Kessler's inside, authoritative account of how George W. Bush has applied principled leadership to the tough task of defeating terrorism and preserving freedom should be read by everyone who cares about our national security.
—William H. Webster, former director of Central Intelligence and former director of the FBI

This eye-opening, behind-the-scenes look inside the Oval Office by one of the country's best journalists is every bit as engrossing as reality television.
—Donald Trump, author of Trump: How to Get Rich

Kessler had "tremendous access, almost unprecedented access..."
—Sean Hannity, Hannity & Colmes, Fox News

A Matter of Character is "both a straightforward political biography of Bush and a remarkable inside account of his White House. Bush's character comes into focus in telling anecdotes.
—National Review

An inner sanctum portrayal of a president who is down-to-earth, fundamentally decent, humble, and more intellectually sophisticated and flexible than he is often portrayed.
—The Boston Herald

This is the best biography of President Bush I've read...Bob Woodward's level of access to officials and insiders may parallel or exceed Kessler's, but Kessler uses the innumerable interviews he conducted to craft his story in a much more interesting way.
—The Stanford Review

...Kessler brings to life a world generally described only in fiction. While providing special insight into CIA successes associated with the post-9/11 war on terror, Kessler also portrays a demoralized agency that lost popular and political support because of its inability to detect traitors within its own ranks....Kessler had unprecedented access to the agency, which is reflected in his up-to-date commentary on the war and administration policy.
—Booklist

Kessler's balanced use of sources and unprecedented access, his skillful storytelling, and his grasp of the agency's inner-workings and history, make this a must-read for anyone who cares about the Global War on Terrorism.
—The Stanford Review

...Colorful and fascinating new details on episodes from Waco to Watergate...Kessler's sobering report on [former FBI Director Louis] Freeh will come as a surprise to most readers—and possibly even to Washington insiders—because so little criticism leaked while he was there...Chilling. —Washington Post Book World

...a compelling and timely exposition of the real FBI. Kessler's fresh information and command of the facts...rings with authority...One of the best books of the year.
—Los Angeles Times

Was there anyone who saw before 9/11 that things were not really so hunky-dory at [Louis J.] Freeh's FBI? There was one voice crying in the wilderness: journalist Ronald Kessler, who charged that FBI agent morale had collapsed under Freeh and that Freeh was personally responsible for mishandling key cases...Kessler was right on all counts. Go back and read his two books on the bureau after you read Freeh.
—Washington Monthly

There are plenty of people claiming they knew Deep Throat was actually former FBI man Mark Felt....On May 3, 2002, PAGE SIX reported that Ronald Kessler, author of The Bureau: The Secret History of the FBI, says that all the evidence points to former top FBI official W. Mark Felt.
—New York Post

Ronald Kessler...all but beat Vanity Fair to the punch of disclosing that Deep Throat was former FBI Associate Director W. Mark Felt.
—Washington Times

In guessing game, few can say "I told you so..." Ronald Kessler's [The Bureau], naming W. Mark Felt as Deep Throat, was on the money.
—Baltimore Sun

An obscenely absorbing anthropological study of the very rich. I couldn't put it down.
—Bertram S. Brown, M.D., former director, National Institute of Mental Health

Kessler names names, and makes Roxanne Pulitzer and Will Kennedy Smith look like bit players.
—New York Post

Amusing, entertaining, revealing...[an] anecdotal romp. Kessler talked to lots of people, many of whom usually prefer to keep quiet...Some folks will be amused; some upset. Few will be bored.
—Palm Beach Post

The Shocking Scandals, Corruption, and Abuse of Power
Behind the Scenes on Capitol Hill

...you can bank on the accuracy of Ronald Kessler's reporting...Inside Congress is full of...startling revelations of corruption, abuse of power, and arrogance in the House and Senate.
—Walter Scott, Parade

Naming names, Kessler has catalogued decades worth of corruption and scandal involving our nation's elected officials.
—People

Ronald Kessler's book comes up with startling new information.
—Baltimore Sun

A page-turner...about a family blessed and cursed by fate.
—Houston Chronicle

The Hidden Lives of the Modern Presidents
and the Secrets of the World's Most Powerful Institution

With substance calculated to irritate frustrated taxpayers as much as to entertain, Kessler's tabloid style is effective in enticing the reader to keep turning the pages.
—Kirkus Reviews

If the general public knew what was going on inside the White House, they would scream.
—Secret Service agent

Impressive...insider perspective...an informative study by Kessler...persuasively documented...One of the most notable books of the year.
—New York Times Book Review

A must-read...a compelling account...of the contemporary FBI, warts and all...
—Philadelphia Inquirer

Fascinating...[a] careful and well-written study...Kessler lays out the agency's clangers as well as its triumphs and reveals the incompetents hiding in its ranks....
—San Francisco Chronicle

A Justice Department official...noted that the original charges against [FBI Director William] Sessions came not from FBI agents but from a journalist, Ronald Kessler [who uncovered the abuses while writing a book about the FBI, leading to Sessions' dismissal]...
—Washington Post

The first [reference to Vasili Mitrokhin's archive] occurred in the United States nine months after his defection [in a book by] the well-known Washington investigative journalist Ronald Kessler...
—The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB

Comprehensive...Kessler's gotten agents to open up about the organization's inner workings...A revealing glimpse of an American institution in transition.
—Kirkus Reviews

...an account unique for balance, perspective, clarity of writing, and the large amount of factual material...definitely one of the most important books on the U.S. intelligence community in some years.
—Booklist

The special value of Inside the CIA is that it gives a picture of the CIA today...The picture balances CIA's warts with its accomplishments...
—William E. Colby, former CIA director

Mr. Kessler has written an overview that my spook friends say is an accurate account of the way the agency does its business.
—Washington Times

...unusually thoughtful and evenhanded...studded with anecdotes that are always instructive and often funny.
—Washington Post Book World

The tour is never dull, especially since it features so much 007 gadgetry, from water-spraying silent drills to eavesdropping devices that work by zapping laser beams through windows.
—Los Angeles Times

A highly readable, absorbing account of one of the most intriguing intelligence stories in U.S. history.
—Washington Post Book World

A rather remarkable book reconstructing the whole affair...Kessler reveals how the CIA missed making the most of the espionage coup of the century.
—Houston Chronicle

Kessler offers a tellingly detailed account of the stranger-than-fiction case...intriguing...fascinating and painstakingly documented.
—Kirkus Reviews

What is stunning about Escape from the CIA is the exhaustive reporting and the immediacy of it: We are there...A book you won't want to miss....a must.
.—Detroit Free Press

A veteran espionage writer, Mr. Kessler is sharp on the fine points of spying...[He] zeroes in on the central issue for any spy tale: motivation....The nonfictional counterpart to John LeCarre's The Russia House.
—Wall Street Journal

A marvelous exposé...a fascinating character study of the modern traitor.
—Booklist

Shocking...an important tale...Mr. Kessler is a first-rate ferret and an industrious interviewer. He knows the territory.
—New York Times Book Review

Kessler makes it plain that basic security-related practices need to be changed.
—New York Post

Fascinating...Unique insight into an area seldom examined.
—New York Times Book Review

Gripping...[a] unique volume of revelations about counterintelligence activities in the FBI.
—Kirkus Reviews

Absorbing...There is sensational material here...but most impressive are the author's revelations of FBI counterintelligence methods.
—Publishers Weekly

A notable coup...rich and varied material...one cannot but admire the depth and breadth of Kessler's knowledge of spy operations and FBI guile in unmasking them.
—Chicago Tribune

A detailed account, replete with menus, carrots, and sticks, of how Mr. Khashoggi has made big money brokering deals between the Arab world and the west.
—New York Times Book Review

Journalist Ronald Kessler...portrays his prey as a deal maker who has used conspicuous consumption—and sometimes payoffs and call girls—to win billions of dollars worth of business.
—People

Kessler's legwork has paid off: His book is a thorough, skeptical, and eye-opening look at an industry second only to banking in wealth.
—Washington Post Book World

The big boys of the life insurance industry will not like The Life Insurance Game because it is an accurate and fair presentation of the life insurance industry as it actually exists, rather than as they'd like the public to see it.
.—Robert W. MacDonald, president, ITT Life Insurance Corp.

...Mr. Kessler's description of the Dickensian industrial life insurance business [is] shocking....The Life Insurance Game should jolt quite a few [consumers] awake.
—New York Times Book Review