Book recommendations, I can’t get enough of them – Here’s a list of some of my favourites:
I often find myself asking people in my network for book recommendations, and as something of an avid reader myself, I too frequently find myself recommending books to friends, family and colleagues.
With that in mind I thought it would be nice to create this page – a little library of books I’ve read, enjoyed, taken something from and recommend to you.
I’ve broken these down into categories for ease of use but if you work in public relations, study the subject, or are just interested in the PR industry, I’m sure there will be something here to suit you.
If you think I’ve omitted anything or have a recommendation for me – especially if it’s authored by a woman, as this list is rather male heavy – feel free to ping me a tweet or drop me an email.
(Disclosure: This post makes use of affiliate links as detailed here.)
*Updated January 2018*
Books For PR Students
Exploring Public Relations – Ralph Tench & Liz Yeomans
The Public Relations Handbook – Alison Theaker
How to get a job in PR – Sarah Stimson
The New Rules of Marketing & PR – David Meerman Scott
Practical PR Guides & Advice
The PR Masterclass: How to Develop a Public Relations Strategy That Works – Alex Singleton
Crisis, Issues and Reputation Management – Andrew Griffin
Share This: The Social Media Handbook for PR Professionals – CIPR Social Media Panel
Share This Too: More Social Media Solutions for PR Professionals – CIPR Social Media Panel
Spin Sucks: Communication and Reputation Management in the Digital Age – Gini Dietrich
The Public Relations Strategic Toolkit – Alison Theaker & Heather Yaxley
My #PRStack – Multiple Contributors
My #PRStack 2 – Multiple Contributors
FuturePRoof – Multiple Contributors
PR and Social Media Books
Brand Anarchy – Stephen Waddington & Steve Earl
Brand Vandals – Stephen Waddington & Steve Earl
The Social Media Manifesto – Jed Hallam
Writing on the Wall: Social Media – The First 2,000 Years – Tom Standage [Review]
Dark Art: The Changing Face of Public Relations – Tim Burt
The Art of Perception: Memoirs of a Life in PR – Robert Leaf
The Business of Influence: Reframing Marketing and PR for the Digital Age – Philip Sheldrake
From Survival To Significance – Jeremy Waite
Public Relations’ Digital Resolution – Stella Bayles
Myths of PR: All Publicity is Good Publicity and Other Popular Misconceptions – Rich Leigh
The Reputation Game: The Art of Changing How People See You – Rupert Younger & David Waller
General Business Books
Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street – John Brooks
Confessions of an Advertising Man – David Ogilvy
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference – Malcolm Gladwell
Trust Me, PR Is Dead – Robert Phillips [Review]
Cluetrain Manifesto – Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls & David Weinberger
Sprint How to solve big problems and test big ideas in just five days – Jake Knapp
The Flat White Economy: How the Digital Economy is Transforming London – Douglas McWilliams
Politics
All Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain’s Political Class – Tim Shipman
Fall Out: A Year of Political Mayhem – Tim Shipman
Order, Order: The Rise & Fall of Political Drinking – Ben Wright
Unleashing Demons: The Inside Story of Brexit – Craig Oliver
Fake News
Post-Truth: Why We Have Reached Peak Bullshit and What We Can Do About It – Evan Davis
Post-Truth: The New War on Truth and How to Fight Back – Matthew D’Ancona
Post Truth: How Bullshit Conquered the World – James Ball
Personal Development Books
How to be Brilliant: Change your ways in 90 days! – Michael Heppell
Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman
Industry News & Insight
Further Reading
Guns, Germs and Steel: A short history of everybody for the last 13,000 years – Jared Diamond
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind – Yuval Noah Harari
Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow – Yuval Noah Harari
The Prince – Niccolò Machiavelli
Manhood for Amateurs – Michael Chabon