Bookshelf
What follows is a list of books that I recommend for government communicators. To help support Inform! Engage! Inspire! please consider purchasing through my Amazon.com store. Thank you.
Creativity
- De Bono, Edward; Serious Creativity: Using the Power of Lateral Thinking to Create New Ideas
- Holt, Douglas B.; How Brands Become Icons: The Principles of Cultural Branding
- Pink, Daniel; A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
- Shaw, Mark; Copywriting: Successful Writing for Design, Advertising, and Marketing
Design
- Lupton, Ellen; Thinking With Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, and Students
- Williams, Robin; The Non-Designers Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles For the Visual Novice
Financial Management
- Kavanagh, Shayne; Financing the Future: Long-Term Financial Planning for Local Government*
Communications
- Bonk, Kathy, Henry Griggs, and Emily Tynes; Strategic Communications for Nonprofits
- Brown, Paul B. and Alison Davis; Your Attention Please: How to Appeal to Today’s Distracted, Disinterested, Disengaged, Disenchanted and Busy Audiences
- Van Gelder, Sicco and Malcolm Allan; City Branding: How Cities Compete in the 21st Century
- Wheeler, Kenneth, ed.: Effective Communication: A Local Government Guide (ICMA Municipal Management Series)
Government Management
- Miller, Ken; We Don’t Make Widgets: Overcoming the Myths That Keep Government from Radically Improving*
- Paladino, Bob; Five Key Principles of Corporate Performance Management*
Media Relations
- Henderson, David; Making News: A Straight-Shooting Guide to Media Relations
- Weissman, Jerry; In the Line of Fire: How to Handle Tough Questions…When It Counts
New Media
- Beal, Andy & Strauss, Judy; Radically Transparent: Monitoring and Managing Reputations Online*
- Gillan, Paul; The New Influencers: A Marketer’s Guide to the New Social Media
- Gilmore, James H. and B. Joseph Pine II; Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want
- Gobé, Marc; Emotional Branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People
- Jaffe, Joseph; Join the Conversation: How to Engage Marketing-Weary Consumers with the Power of Community, Dialogue, and Partnership
- Krug, Steve; Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
- Lee, Kevin; The Eyes Have It: How to Market in an Age of Divergent Consumers, Media Chaos, and Advertising Anarchy
- McConnell, Ben and Jackie Huba; Citizen Marketers: When People Are the Message
- Scoble, Robert & Shel Israel; Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers
- Sernovitz, Andy; Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking
- Shiffman, Denise; The Age of Engage: Reinventing Marketing for Today’s Connected, Collaborative, and Hyperinteractive Culture
Participation
- Creighton, James L.; The Public Participation Handbook: Making Better Decisions Through Citizen Involvement
- Eggers, William; Government 2.0: Using Technology to Improve Education, Cut Red Tape, Reduce Gridlock, and Enhance Democracy
- Fung, Archon; Empowered Participation: Reinventing Urban Democracy
- Gastil, John and Peter Levine, eds.; The Deliberative Democracy Handbook: Strategies for Effective Civic Engagement in the 21st Century
- Lukaszewski, James E. and Mary Ann N. Cotton; Building Quality Community Relationships: A Planning Model to Gain and Maintain Public Consent
- Thomas, John Clayton; Public Participation in Public Decisions: New Skills and Strategies for Public Managers
Public Relations
- Caywood, Clarke L., ed.; The Handbook of Strategic Public Relations & Integrated Communications
- Ries, Al & Ries, Laura; The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR
- Roberts, Kevin; Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands
- Scott, David Meerman; The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use News Releases, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly*
Presentations
- Duarte, Nancy; Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations
- Reynolds, Garr; Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery*
- Tufte, Edward; The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint: Pitching Out Corrupts Within*
Magazines
- Governing
- Government Video
- Marketing News
- Marketing Research
- Next American City
- PM Magazine
- PRWeek
- Public Relations Tactics
- Western City Magazine
* Books I’ve reviewed on Amazon.com

