The following book review by Pierrette Leonard, APR, Fellow CPRS is posted in the Member’s area of CPRS National’s website.

Author: Al Czarnecki APR
Review Date: July 15, 2007
Publisher: iUniverse  (197 pp.)
Price (paperback): $24.95 USD
Publication Date: April 10, 2007
ISBN (paperback): 978-0-595-40613-5

The author of this book had a very basic goal in mind — to provide anyone responsible for developing a crisis communications plan with a solid “how-to cookbook” for the planning and execution of crisis plans. I learned a lot in reading the book. I consider the following attributes to be among its strongest points:

• The information is broken down in manageable chunks for ease of reading, comprehension and execution; no stone is left unturned, including lists of do’s and don’ts, and sample responses to denote confidence and control in bad situations.
• The book’s versatility is one of its strongest qualities: it can be used to implement the Cadillac version of crisis plans, or used for simple solutions that can be “cherry-picked” to suit any budget or context.
• The truest mark of the book’s thoroughness is that it is not only tactical; it also explains the theories and principles underlying sound crisis communications planning for managers, such as issues management (the backbone of crisis planning) and the role of emotional intelligence in influencing behaviour during moments of crisis.
• Finally, the book contains an extensive list of references for supplementary reading and advice.

This is a first-rate crisis communications handbook you can feel confident recommending to peers, academics and members of your own organization.

Pierrette Leonard was chief examiner for the society’s professional accreditation process from 2000-2007. See Al Czarnecki’s website for additional comments, the table of contents, and links for purchasing the book.