366-Word Book Review: Can We Do That?!

Short review: 80 words
Peter Shankman's book does for events and publicity what Seth Godin's books do for brands and companies. At the end of the day, no matter what you're working on, it better be remarkable to get people talking. And, you'll never have a shot at remarkable if you don't dream big, boldly try new things, and put it all on the line. Shankman's personal tales make you think that maybe you can pull off the extraordinary and generate some serious buzz.

How to read it:

• Whenever you need creativity to strike
• When it's time to launch something new
• When you're planning the next event
• Immediately

Longer analysis: 286 words
I've been subscribing for a while now to Shankman's Help a Reporter Out emails, which has helped me (and CoolPeopleCare) land a little bit of publicity. So, I figured – before even cracking the cover – that he book would be filled with good ideas by way of Shankman's own examples.

I was right.

The tone is conversational, motivational, challenging and insightful. The book is easy to read and is very good about not repeating the same thing again and again. So, you'll want to keep reading just to see what Shankman's firm, The Geek Factory, might pull off next and what kind of buzz they might create.

The stories range widely in terms of scope and budget, time and tools. There's the story about building a giant yarn bus for a small knitting store, the one about having his own birthday party sponsored, and how it is that Peter became a serious skydiver. And don't forget about the time they nearly shut down the Internet.

But best of all are Peter's reminders that you don't need a big team, a big budget or a big client to really get things done in the PR world. You just need something worth talking about. And you need to be creative. And you need to be on your toes. Do that, and be ready to be excited with the outcome.

The book is helpful, particularly because Peter calls attention to his 'rules' – his time-tested mantras for creating ideas that matter in this world. And, each chapter summarizes the major points contained therein so that you can easily reference them later.

Bottom line: the book is good, whether you run your own big-time firm, or you're a laid-back customer service rep.