Published: Jan. 13, 2022

叠测听Kathryn Clark Childers (Edu'69)

(Texas A&M University Press,144听pages;听2021)

 An Unlikely Agent in the US Secret Service

Recruited to the Secret Service as one of its first five female agents, Childers would surprise many people, including herself. Her duties included undercover work, protective details for John and Caroline Kennedy, children of Jacqueline Kennedy, and attending state dinners where she met world leaders, including Prince Juan Carlos of Spain. In addition, she had to figure out how to disguise the .357 Magnum revolver that she carried at all times, whether wearing jogging clothes, a business suit, or an evening gown. It was 1970, and the Secret Service, like most public and private organizations, struggled鈥攕ometimes unsuccessfully鈥攚ith the challenges of incorporating a rising tide of women into government service and other professional workplaces.听

Written in a lighthearted but highly informative style,听Scared Fearless听details the obstacles and the joys, the moments of high adventure, and the laughable fashion dilemmas that were part of Childers鈥 groundbreaking role. Through everything that happened, Childers says, she followed her father鈥檚 admonition: 鈥淛ust do it scared.鈥