Preface -- You can't make this stuff up -- Defining our terms -- What BP should have said -- Attitude adjustments -- Toyota : on a slippery crisis communications slope with no brakes -- Understanding your crisis -- Shaping your crisis communications message -- Spokespersons -- Social media and digital communications or, truth/lies at the speed of light -- Shakespeare was right : "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers" -- Protecting your brand -- Telling the truth -- Say it ain't so, Joe! : the Penn State crisis -- Dealing with death : fatality communications -- Crisis communications primer -- The good, the bad, the news media or, juggling chain saws -- Senior management : your own worst enemy? -- Take your own pulse, or, what were they thinking? -- Internal crisis communications -- External crisis communications -- Reputation management and reservoirs of goodwill -- Issues management -- Crisis communications for publicly-traded companies -- Litigation, depositions and testimony -- How to break bad news -- The blame game -- Crisis-induced stress -- Making defensible decisions : crisis communications gold, decision-making under crisis-induced stress -- Apologies : Shakespeare : still right after all these years -- Crisis advertising : does it work? -- Crisis communications plans -- The failing of business schools -- Speed is of the essence.