Includes bibliographical references and index.

Origins of a modern agency -- The thirties and forties: roots of disparate duties -- The fifties: signs of a coming era -- Walking in fire: the 1960s in America -- Catalysts of change -- Focal points -- End of an era -- The seventies: moving beyond civil disturbance -- The new director -- The resurgence of protective operations -- Facing protest and peril -- Regionalization, Patty Hearst and Guam -- An evolution of leadership -- The eighties: redefinition -- Strike teams and high-profile prisoners -- The development of a golden age -- Unique enforcement operations -- The U.S. Marshals improvement revolution -- The nineties: wanderlust -- The term of K. Michael Moore -- A dramatic era -- The busy season -- The changing landscape -- The new "marshall" -- The new century: renewal -- A boy named Elian -- The McKinney influence -- A time of terrorists -- Director Reyna and the aftermath of 911.

Description based on print version record.