Joseph Petro served for twenty-three years as a Special Agent in the U. S. Secret Service, eleven of them at the White House and four of those as the man on the shoulder of Ronald Reagan. And while protecting him, Joseph Petro got to know Ronald Reagan intimately. From a junior investigator in the field to the man on whom the life of the President depended, Joseph Petro's journey through the Secret Service is a singular look inside the most discreet law enforcement agency in the world and an unparalleled insight into Ronald Reagan. Joseph Petro saw Reagan at his best. He ate popcorn with him at the private cinema on Camp David, rode horses together on the ranch, and was one of five men in the private meeting between the President and Gorbachev at the watershed moment when the Cold War ended. Quite simply, Joseph Petro stood next to history. With never before seen pictures of presidents, popes and other heads of state, Standing Next to History will be a must have for Reagan lovers and those who want an inside look at the Secret Service.