Customer Reviews

Nail 'Em!: Confronting High Profile Attacks on Celebrities & Businesses

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I attended the author's book signing and after hearing him speak for almost an hour addressing comments and taking questions I did not want the discussion to end. Mr. Dezenhall is brilliant, extremeley funny and very resourceful. He writes the book with the same engaging prose and examples. He singles out the prototypes in many of the highly contraversial clients and situations he deals with in his work. We begin to see a pattern in the victims, villians, vehicles and values of the pr attacks and defences. His strategies and creative comebacks in any given situation are truly impressive.

With insight, professional frameworks, and wit, Dezenhall has succeeded in painting an important and terrifying portrait of the new 'Attack Culture' and how it is shaping media and our lives. At the same time, his work defines and brings credibility to the profession of 'Crisis Management' -- a profession entirely distinct in philosophy and approach from its oft-compared cousin, 'PR'. Bravo!

Dezenhall's analysis of the "attack bias" in the media is must reading. Because humans pay more attenton to negative news, editors and reporters go after any likely target (AND shy away from criticisms that would require scientific evaluation where their errors might be caught). The result is a breathless, eager, and ultimately disastrous ignorance of the facts. If you are fed up with mmass media superficiality, this book will help explain why -- and hopefully convince some editors to go back to more traditional standards of their craft.

Dezenhall offers an absolutely outstanding insight into the dark world of planned attack on corporations and well-known people by the likes of 60 Minutes, 20/20, corporate stalkers, and others seeking a few minutes of fame. I highly recommend it for an understanding of where we are today in terms of attacks by headline seekers and disgruntled folks of all kinds. Our family is filled with what I would consider highly ethical journalists, and I have always felt that we are fairly safe in believing something when "we see it" on shows like 20/20. Unfortunately this is not so anymore. Dezenhall's work is a "must read" for those of who love the truth.

In a world where television dictates emotion and the latest rumor becomes the evening news fact, Nail' EM cuts through the fog and shows us exactly the forces at work against corporate Icons and celebrities. Not only did I buy this book but I sent a copy to Audi just in case 60 Minutes returns.

We all understand the agenda of capitalism and advertising, but it is important to understand the flip side of issues, how anti-business political movements use hate tactics to further their agenda and spread disinformation.

Nail 'Em is a well-written and revealing account of crisis management decision-making in today's business climate. Mr. Dezenhall's thought-provoking descriptions of real-life situations certainly held my interest from cover to cover. I have passed this book on to diverse friends and family and all enjoyed it. The author draws from a wealth of personal experience and seems to be a born story-teller--I'm hoping he will try his hand at fiction sometime!

Dezenhall's book is about what happens when tv goes after my favorite movie star! Aren't they supposed to be covering that stuff in the Mideast? I really liked it! I also liked Michael Levine's Guerrilla PR: Wired 'cause he also deals with how to fight back using the web. Fight the madness!

I am familiar with the work of Eric Dezenhall and his firm. He is a respected talent in his business of crisis management, and this book is a must-read. Dezenhall tells the truth that most are afraid to tell: America has become a fertile breeding ground for extorting greenmailers and frivolous litigation. In this no-nonsense book, Mr. Dezenhall lays out concepts of the "Victim Culture", tactics used by extorters, the role of the media, and the concept of "Schadenfreude".

The key to fighting back lies in understanding your adversary. If you want to hold hands with your attackers and sing "Kumbayah", this book is not for you. If you come to realize that you are in a fight, where your adversary has no interest in resolving differences and just wants to take you down, this book is definitely for you.

Great read, and highly recommended!

The quiet frustrations I've shared with my friends and colleagues about media coverage have finally found a voice! Nail 'Em provides an insight to the motivations and manipulations that characterize the attack mode of the contemporary press. Written in a fluent, witty tone, Dezenhall gives his reader an inside look on why and how media attacks are generated, who falls victim and how corporate America responds. The self righteous veneer of America's watchdog groups is slowly starting to peel and rightly so.