The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook by Ben Mezrich

Oct 17, 2011 Petra X rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I read a book that has a great deal of biographical detail and where the subject refuses to co-operate and where there are too many phrases like, 'he must have thought', 'he could have surmised', 'maybe he felt', I think that even if the author is as well-respected as Mezrich, this is probably a load of balls.

Modern society, the media, cannot stand those who refuse to have a publicist, give interviews, employ a stylist and have a dozen employees referred to as 'my people'. It can't stand p...more When I read a book that has a great deal of biographical detail and where the subject refuses to co-operate and where there are too many phrases like, 'he must have thought', 'he could have surmised', 'maybe he felt', I think that even if the author is as well-respected as Mezrich, this is probably a load of balls.

Modern society, the media, cannot stand those who refuse to have a publicist, give interviews, employ a stylist and have a dozen employees referred to as 'my people'. It can't stand people who have done something that puts them in the public eye but they don't want the public attention. The media, journalists, papparazzi, editors all feel that they are entitled to make bucks off these people and need to have good sources of information and they hate those that just want to live a private life. So Zuckerberg always comes off worst.

It has become fashionable in the UK for randy footballers, thieving bankers and sundry assorted others we do not know of or cannot name, to seek superinjunctions at a cost of £150,000 to stop their misdeeds being published which might harm their families, show the public they are immoral criminals, or more likely in the case of all the footballer and actors, the bad publicity will harm the lucrative business of product endorsements. To me, they are fair game for the press. They can't get enough good publicity, every column inch is worth pounds and pence, so when the shit they do catches up with them, they should have to suck it up, like those who don't have a spare £150,000 for the lawyers.

But Zuckerberg is a private man, and his privacy should be respected and the envelope not pushed with what he might have thought or surmised, or whether he started Facebook because he was anti-social and bitter having been rejected by some girl or other. Authors like Mezrich rely on the fact that Zuckerberg probably wouldn't sue, so can continue to write this crap because he couldn't get an interview.

Other than that, the book was quite good for a business book, but without Zuckerberg's input and with the all-too-willing input of his enemies, it wasn't ever going to be the definitive book of Facebook.(less)

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Jan 23, 2011 Scribble Orca rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: If you aren't going to watch the film

Shelves: biographies, non-fiction, teens-above-12

This is not a high energy book!

You'll have a much better time watching the movie The Social Network (I did, on the plane, from Munich to Singapore), you might even come away with a sense of who was nasty and who was nice, but reading the book is like eating white toast bread. Tasteless. And disappointing. Being a firm believe of the old cliche that the book is better than the film, I was expecting to come away with some tangible insights. I didn't.

It's nothing to do with Mezrich's skill as a wr...more

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Feb 28, 2011 Elaine rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Listening to audiobook, I could tell from the outset that it was going to be terrible. Normally, I'd have quit, but I decided to stick with it for the story. Soon I realized that I was listening to it for the entertainment value of its badness. The book, seemingly untouched by an editor's hand, is dense with stereotypes, cliches, hyperbole, adolescent fantasies (which seem to be the author's more than those of the main characters), mixed metaphors, inappropriate comparisons, and comical malaprop...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Lili Manolache rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich is a great book that I recommend to all young people today and all those who aspire to start their own business and change the world.

The ideology of the new generation includes without any doubt the giant Facebook. It has become part of the social evolution of our century and it has reached even the basic unit of society: family and individual. In my opinion, Facebook is the tool we use nowadays for both personal and business activities. Today’s gener...more

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Jul 04, 2011 Juliana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: cinema, fatos-reais

The author's way of writing a real story had already captured me on the other book about the MIT boys and Las Vegas. This time was no different. His storytelling is catchy and you won't stop reading so soon. I finished it in one day, after 200 pages.
Don't be fooled, though. The real story behind the creation of Facebook can be found only with each founder. This book and the movie based on it are only a part of the story.
Also this was the basis for my course conclusion work on journalism, about b...more

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May 29, 2012 Ivy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history-biography-memoirs-nonfictio

Although much of Ben Mezrich's information is sketchy at best, he writes a very engaging story of how much blood, sweat and tears were shed in the founding of Facebook. Though he no doubt interviewed some of the key players in this drama, the most important point of view is missing---Mark Zuckerberg's. The drama, ironically, revolves around Zuckerberg yet the author felt he had enough information from other sources to write a book about him. That might be fine for some people, but I had a proble...more Although much of Ben Mezrich's information is sketchy at best, he writes a very engaging story of how much blood, sweat and tears were shed in the founding of Facebook. Though he no doubt interviewed some of the key players in this drama, the most important point of view is missing---Mark Zuckerberg's. The drama, ironically, revolves around Zuckerberg yet the author felt he had enough information from other sources to write a book about him. That might be fine for some people, but I had a problem with him describing situations which only Mark was witness to. Mezrich could only make suppositions about how a certain situation might have unfolded, but he could never know for sure. Yet he has no problems creating a fictitious account for his readers to believe.

Eduardo Severin's account of how he was basically shafted by Zuckerberg really did win my sympathy. Of all the people surrounding Zuckerberg, Eduardo was the one who was a genuine friend. He seemed the one who best understood the timid genius and accepted him warts and all. Severin even put up his own money to initially launch Facebook, but when Severin chose to stay in school and finish his education instead of giving himself body and soul to the company he'd helped create, he is pushed out.

Mezrich goes on to describe the wild parties, drinking orgies, and promiscuous behavior involved in gathering new investors to make Facebook even bigger. The geeks were now bagging Victoria's Secret models, where in college they were basically ignored. To sum it up, this book leaves a bad taste in my mouth---one that makes me want to delete my Facebook account. But I won't because I am far too addicted. This becomes the recipe for Mark Zuckerberg's success. Like a drug dealer he knows just what his customers want and he gives it to them until they're addicted. Then he'll start charging higher prices. Talk about making some of FB's features "pay-only" is now circulating. Will we give in and pay or will we have the strength to say 'no' and walk away?(less)

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Dec 23, 2010 Tom rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Here is one of the rare cases where I say the film ("The Social Contract") is better than the book. Mezrich's version of Facebook's founding is a fast read but one told primarily through the eyes and voice of Eduardo Saverin, the partner who has claimed he was cheated and misled by Facebook originator Mark Zuckerberg. As such, it is just one-half of the usual "he said/she said" story. Since the book was published in early 2010, we don't know yet the final outcome of Saverin's litigation against...more Here is one of the rare cases where I say the film ("The Social Contract") is better than the book. Mezrich's version of Facebook's founding is a fast read but one told primarily through the eyes and voice of Eduardo Saverin, the partner who has claimed he was cheated and misled by Facebook originator Mark Zuckerberg. As such, it is just one-half of the usual "he said/she said" story. Since the book was published in early 2010, we don't know yet the final outcome of Saverin's litigation against Zuckerberg, nor the end result of a similar suit brought by the Winklevoss twins, the Harvard students who claim Zuckerberg stole their idea for a social network website.
It is clear the book falls in the "nonfiction novel" category, as Mezrich provides us not only with spoken dialogue but also interior thoughts as the various characters ascend in elevators, fly in jets, row sculls and size up drunken parties. Too many passages are introduced by ambivalent disclaimers like "Maybe somewhere inside of Mark's thoughts, he knew..." and "As Eduardo watches the banker...maybe he wonders, for the briefest of seconds, if he is going too far." The tale is told in dramatic scenes that jump around and seem to cry out "Buy my movie rights." (Columbia Pictures did.)
If the book was based primarily on information supplied by Saverin, it still leaves a great deal unanswered about Saverin's character and motives. Just what was it about Zuckerberg, with the personality of an automaton, that attracted Saverin? As the book tells it, Zuckerberg was an awkward Harvard junior who had acquired some campus fame as a hacker of the university's computer system. Saverin, a senior, is shown as admiring Zuckerberg's geekiness and chutzpah but also being frustrated by Z's aloof attitude. Saverin's other friends were fellow members of one of Harvard's private clubs -- typical smart-alecky, highly social frat boys. So just what was it that made these two opposites bond? Saverin clearly was far more emotional about their friendship and apparently grew jealous when Zuckerberg left Cambridge and gravitated toward Napster party boy Sean Parker in Palo Alto. But the book doesn't spell out clearly what Saverin thought he would accomplish by freezing the Facebook bank account. The book coyly hints there might have been more than a business partnership but stops short of alleging a gay component to their relationship. Yet Saverin's decision to drop his girlfriend and head off to a lonely career start-up in New York after his graduation certainly made me wonder. Perhaps some day Zuckerberg will give us a memoir that provides the other half of this story. (less)

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Oct 24, 2010 Vivian Valvano rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First, let me note that I liked the film "The Social Network" written by Aaron Sorkin, directed by David Fincher: beautiful craftsmanship, excellent acting, terrific writing, good direction ... BUT I worried when I saw it. I knew that it was not a bio-pic in any way, shape, or form. I knew that it could not be taken as documentary in any way, shape, or form, and that Mark Zuckerberg had nothing to do with it. After viewing it, I felt it should carry a disclaimer clearly stating that it was SUGGE...more First, let me note that I liked the film "The Social Network" written by Aaron Sorkin, directed by David Fincher: beautiful craftsmanship, excellent acting, terrific writing, good direction ... BUT I worried when I saw it. I knew that it was not a bio-pic in any way, shape, or form. I knew that it could not be taken as documentary in any way, shape, or form, and that Mark Zuckerberg had nothing to do with it. After viewing it, I felt it should carry a disclaimer clearly stating that it was SUGGESTED by the founding of Facebook because, no offense to anyone, not everyone is smart enough to know what I knew. Now, I have just read the book on which the film is "based," according to the film's credits and promotional materials, and I am totally aghast. The book is a piece of junk. (1.) Ben Mezrich cannot write. His grammar is atrocious (e.g., his repeated use of the construction "off of" instead of "from" got me blearly-eyed after awhile), his style is elementary to the point of simplistic, he has a terrible vocabulary and does not know how to find synonyms (e.g., "pudgy" as an adjective for various physical parts of Larry Summers's body is repeated several times in just a few pages). (2.) As far as I can see, he had exactly one real, on the record source, Eduardo Saverin. This makes my discomfort at the level of accuracy very strong indeed. He claims at one point to have "dozens of sources - some direct witnesses, some indirect," whatever that means, but apart from Saverin, "these sources have asked to remain anonymous." He also claims at another point that the book is based on "dozens of interviews, hundreds of sources (? what happened to the dozens?), and thousands of pages of documents, including records from several court proceedings." I'd say that if an author has "hundreds" of sources, he should be able to get more than one to go on the record. And I don't see how too many of the documents could have been court proceeding records since the lawsuit of the Winklevoss twins against Zuckerberg and Facebook was settled and sealed by the judge, and the records of the suits between Saverin and Zuckerberg have not been made public. Certainly, Mezrich could have read many emails, which couldn't have been too taxing. Let me allow him to speak for himself here, because this is so ludicrous that it defies paraphrase: "I re-created the scenes in the book based on the information I uncovered from documents and interviews, and my best judgment as to what version most closely fits the documentary record. Other scenes are written in a way that describes individual perceptions without endorsing them. . . . I do employ the technique of re-created dialogue. I have based this dialogue on the recollections of participants of the substance of conversations. Some of the conversations recounted in this book took place over long periods of time, in multiple locations, and thus some conversations and scenes were re-created and compressed. Rather than spread these conversations out, I sometimes set these scenes in likely settings." Aaaaahhhhh! As Daria's theme song says, "You're standing on my neck!" Mezrich thanks Aaron Sorkin in his acknowledgments. I am at a loss to understand why Sorkin got involved with him at all. I really can't understand how Sorkin and Fincher made such a good film if this book was at the root. Sorkin and Fincher are real talents; Mezrich is not. They created a noteworthy piece of work that tells a good story (although, again, and it must be emphasized, not the factual record of the creation of Facebook); Mezrich wrote (I refuse to say created) a third-rate mess that is neither non-fiction, nor investigative journalism, nor historical fiction, nor good, creative fiction loosely suggested by real persons and occurrences. (Memo to "Law and Order" franchise: do not hire Mezrich as a scriptwriter.) I wonder why Zuckerberg didn't sue Mezrich. Then again, the almost sourceless book is so bad and is filled with so many constructions like "perhaps," "maybe," "one can imagine," "likely," "the odds are good that," and my personal favorite - "we can picture Mark reading the words on the (business) card aloud to himself" that I certainly can understand Zuckerberg ignoring the whole thing. He is, after all, a computer genius. (less)

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Aug 04, 2012 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a fast paced book detailing the meteoric rise of Facebook and it's founders. It is pretty amazing. What, however, amazes me even more are the young women, highly educated, mind you, who prostitute themselves willingly for sport with virtual strangers. It is somewhat understandable that women do this for love or money, but what has educating women done for them if they can't respect themselves? I realize that self respect is taught from birth at home, but education should turn on a light...more

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Mar 02, 2011 Nathan rated it 2 of 5 stars

It's written at about the level of a James Patterson novel, and filled with a surprising amount of conjecture and hearsay. I hope the movie is better.

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Sep 26, 2011 S J Blake rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a fun story written a bit hastily and clumsily, but still worth a read. Because one of the two main protagonists, Mark Zuckerberg, the actual dude who created Facebook (his name used to appear at the bottom of every page, 'A Mark Zuckerberg Production'), refused to speak to Mezrich, he had to make do with second-hand and even third-hand sources. That makes for some silly turd-person passages - and a lot of journalistic hedging as he speculates on what so-and-so might have thought, or sai...more

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Apr 21, 2013 Sara rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

I had not seen the movie that was developed after this book. I definitely won't bother to now. It seems like the founding of a .com that has so thoroughly pervaded life in America would be compelling. After reading this, I realized I could care less about the people engaged in this drama. Maybe it is the disconnect between me and a college education that costs well into 6 figures - not a single one of these characters was ever going to be hurting in life, unless they made a catastrophic commodit...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Holden Gilbertson rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This fascinating story of the creation of Facebook by Ben Merich is a very interesting book. It combines personal friendships with Business. It shows betrayal and hard work. This book is intended for people fifteen to forty. In the beginning you see a man name Mark Zuckerberg who just wants to have a good time in college. In the end you will see a man named mark Zuckerberg who is a billionaire and has screwed over his best friend.

In the beginning Mark is a student at Harvard. He is in school to...more

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Dec 22, 2012 Blablabla Aleatório rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nubia

Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.

(Mark Zuckerberg)

Ben Mezrich recria a história do surgimento do site de relacionamento social mais utilizado atualmente, através de entrevistas e documentos (incluindo registros de ações judiciais). Realmente é uma pena que Mark Zuckerberg não tenha concedido nenhuma entrevista, tudo o que nos é passado sobre o nerd antissocial e hacker nas horas vagas são suposições e porque não ‘achismos’ das pes...more

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Jul 22, 2012 Eric_W rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-memoir, economics

If you have seen the movie, The Social Network, you already know the plot. Filled with the purported conversations of college students from years ago, one must remain somewhat skeptical. However, I get really nervous when the author describes taking a flight from New York to San Francisco on a 757 “wide-body.” (It’s a narrow-body.)

Mezrich, himself, says several of the characters are composites (more red flags,) and some reviewers have complained the book was too long and boring. I listened to it...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Kristine Shahverdyan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When the Social Network came out, it seemed pretty interesting but I never watched it. When I saw this book, I decided on reading it. The book is basically the story of how facebook came about. Two best friends, Eduardo and Mark, were Harvard undergrads trying to stand out. One day Mark tried hacking into the schools computer and almost got expelled. This prank inspired him to create face book. However, the two best friends were torn apart. My favorite quote from the book is "Facebook wasn't a l...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Cheryl Gatling added it · review of another edition

I agree with the blurb on the jacket that this book is "compulsively readable." But is it reliable? The author doesn't just relate what happened, but creates vivid scenes, describing in detail what was on the walls, what was on the tables, what people were wearing, what music was playing, and especially, what everyone was thinking. Despite his many interviews with many people, he must lapse into conjecture to accomplish this, and pretty much admits it. He admits that he invented the exact wordin...more

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Apr 14, 2012 Ashley (Nose Graze) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I guess I should begin by saying that I started reading this book after having seen the film that was based on it (The Social Network). I wasn’t necessarily looking for an accurate account of the foundation of Facebook. As a bit of a computer geek myself, I found the film enjoyable and I approached the book almost as a form of fiction. I just wanted an interesting story that I would enjoy.

When reading other reviews, one of the biggest critiques I found was that the book doesn’t just deal with ju...more I guess I should begin by saying that I started reading this book after having seen the film that was based on it (The Social Network). I wasn’t necessarily looking for an accurate account of the foundation of Facebook. As a bit of a computer geek myself, I found the film enjoyable and I approached the book almost as a form of fiction. I just wanted an interesting story that I would enjoy.

When reading other reviews, one of the biggest critiques I found was that the book doesn’t just deal with just facts. Yes it’s based on real life events, but it’s certainly more dramatic and elaborate than any facts we have available. In the author’s note, the author admits to making up dialogue and filling in his own content where there were gaps in his research. Naturally, this upsets some reviewers. For example:

“Mezrich writes the book in the style of dramatic narrative which apparently means ‘when I don’t have facts, I’ll just make ‘em up and when the story gets slow, I’ll fabricate a sex scene.’”

I, on the other hand, like fiction. I wasn’t looking for a purely factual informational piece. And I do like sex scenes! (But to be honest, there are no actual sex scenes in the book. There are only a few moments where it’s implied that someone went off and had sex.)

I think it’s important for those reviewers to understand that Facebook was a college creation. It was created by college students in dorm rooms and some of those students did like to party. So yes, there will be parties, sex, girls, drinking, and throwing around words like “fuck” and “shit.” I don’t see that as “dramatic narrative” — I see it as accurately describing the setting and environment that Facebook was created in.

So if you just want to read about a piece of college life and entrepreneurship and enjoy a story, the book is a good and interesting read. If you’re looking for a serious piece of non-fiction and just want the facts about Facebook as a company, try a Wikipedia article instead.

The one thing I didn’t really like was how the author switched from writing in past tense — as if the events definitely happened — to saying things like, “We can imagine that this is what happened next” or “We can imagine this is how it happened” or “We can imagine Mark doing that.” It kind of pulled me out of the immersion of the book; it’s like I went from reading a story to reading about someone guessing at what happened. I have no problem with the author making assumptions, exaggerations, or even making up dialogue, but I prefer it to be written as actual events. I think the author’s note was enough to cover his ass and make it clear that not everything happened exactly the way he wrote it.

At the end of the day, it was a good read, an enjoyable book — but not amazing.(less)

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Jan 02, 2012 Danny rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the second book by Mezrich I've listened to, and I've decided I don't really like his approach, which is to attempt to make his characters seem lovable but unlikeable. Or maybe he's genuinely trying to get inside their heads, and he just tends to pick stories featuring unlikeable folks. Who knows.

I haven't seen the film adaptation, "The Social Network," but I figured I should read this book. Still, it's not like I was going to excise Facebook from my life if I discovered it was founded a...more

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Jul 22, 2011 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tv

Ahh, Facebook. The bane of my existence. Just because I am not a member (for lots of reasons) doesn't mean I don't want to know what the big deal is. I am that way with a lot of stuff and FB is just something else on that list. This book was pretty much just a longer version of the article I read in Rolling Stone last year that enhanced my anti of this website and the author actually uses that article as a source. It can be found here:
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/stor...

Right before I read t...more

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Jul 18, 2011 Bhargavi Balachandran rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: from-my-library, good-fun, racy, read-in-2011, july-2011

Sometimes it is just difficult to define what a good book really is.Is it something that is overflowing with robust language and literary merits or something that really quickens your heartbeat and makes you want to turn pages in anticipation of what happens next?. A lot of people have reviewed this book as a pedestrian effort with almost a frat-boy style of writing. I do tend to agree with the frat-boy comment ,but I do think that this story demanded the kind of handling Ben Mezrich has used.

I...more

Sometimes it is just difficult to define what a good book really is.Is it something that is overflowing with robust language and literary merits or something that really quickens your heartbeat and makes you want to turn pages in anticipation of what happens next?. A lot of people have reviewed this book as a pedestrian effort with almost a frat-boy style of writing. I do tend to agree with the frat-boy comment ,but I do think that this story demanded the kind of handling Ben Mezrich has used.

I saw the movie before I read the book and really liked it.The movie is a faithful adaptation of book ,with some minor rearrangement in the flow of the events.Whereas the book focuses more on the genesis of Facebook and the trials and tribulations the founder went through, the movie focuses more on the law suits that plagued Mark Zuckerberg. I was putting off reading this book mainly because I always find that reading a book after seeing the screen adaptation takes away from the charm of the book.In a way this was true with this book as well ,as the words bought forth images from the movie only and left little to my imagination.Nevertheless,I enjoyed reading the book.

One does wonder whether all sides were represented properly in the book,what with Zuckerberg refusing to have anything to do with the book. To me, the book seemed fair ,with viewpoints of all the major players in the "drama" represented. What really happened is something only a few people know. At the end of the book, one is just overwhelmed at the sheer genius of people like Zuckerberg.I guess we need to take into account the fact that he ate,breathed and lived Facebook. Focus of that kind is just phenomenal and jaw droppingly inspirational.

Though Zuckerberg is painted as someone who didn't really care much about things like friendship, honor and morals as long at his baby,Facebook surged ahead, I couldn't really see him as an opportunist.Great enterprises are sometimes born out of cold, calculated moves devoid of emotions and other baggage that often staggers the progress of that enterprise.Maybe,all the bad-blood that was shed and the law suits that happened were essential to the birth of a true monolith of Facebook's proportions.

Overall,an awesome story of a maverick kid who chose to dream big and matched it with hard work and focus.

(less)

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Jul 14, 2011 Caitlin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

After watching "The Social Network" and finding myself really obsessed with the movie, I decided to pick up the book that started it all. And, I wasn't disappointed one bit. A fascinating look at these real-life people, Mezrich gives a more equitable look than the movie does. Reading it, I found it harder to pinpoint a villain or hero in the story. They were just people -- people who made decisions, who created and destroyed relationships, who wanted to be a part of something bigger than themsel...more

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Jun 17, 2011 Scott added it · review of another edition

Quick read - bought for $2 and finished in the same day. (Thank you, Green Apple!) The book was interesting enough to read, to get context on the creation of Facebook and the people involved, but the heavy usage of the literary device of "recreating dialogue" is a bit hit or miss, often making the book seem too simplified or sensationalistic. For better of worse, the author's writing style makes the book read very much like a Hollywood script.

While it seems that the book likely got the logistica...more

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May 29, 2011 ReviewBuku rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Di balik ketenaran facebook, terdapat persengketaan yang cukup serius. Saya rasa inilah yang ingin ditunjukkan oleh buku ini. Buku ini ditulis oleh Ben Mezrich, penulis yang juga alumnus Universitas Harvard. Mezrich menulis riwayat dibuatnya facebook dalam bentuk novel. Namun, novel ini ditulis berdasarkan data – data asli yang berjumlah ribuan, termasuk wawancara dan juga catatan – catatan pengadilan. Menceritakan kisah dibuatnya facebook dengan gaya naratif khas novel membuat buku ini menarik...more Di balik ketenaran facebook, terdapat persengketaan yang cukup serius. Saya rasa inilah yang ingin ditunjukkan oleh buku ini. Buku ini ditulis oleh Ben Mezrich, penulis yang juga alumnus Universitas Harvard. Mezrich menulis riwayat dibuatnya facebook dalam bentuk novel. Namun, novel ini ditulis berdasarkan data – data asli yang berjumlah ribuan, termasuk wawancara dan juga catatan – catatan pengadilan. Menceritakan kisah dibuatnya facebook dengan gaya naratif khas novel membuat buku ini menarik untuk dibaca berlama – lama.
Ketika majalah Time menobatkan Mark Zuckerberg sebagai Person of the Year 2010, saya merasa bahwa ia memang pantas menerimanya. Mark adalah seorang muda pembuat situs jejaring social paling mencorong pada saat ini. Sebuah situs pertemanan yang memiliki pengguna paling banyak di seluruh dunia. Bahkan di Indonesia, di desa terpencil yang belum terjamah jaringan internet sekalipun, banyak orang – orang muda yang biasa mengakses akun facebook mereka melalui telepon genggam.
Namun, ketika saya selesai membaca buku ini, saya rasa Mark Zuckerberg tidak sepenuhnya pantas menerimanya.
Mark Zuckerberg dan Eduardo Saverin menjadi mahasiswa Harvard di tahun yang sama. Siapa Eduardo Saverin? Ia adalah penyandang dana facebook ketika situs ini baru pertama kalinya muncul di dunia maya. Saverin sangat berminat menjadi anggota dari salah satu klub yang ada Harvard. Bagi Saverin, menjadi anggota klub saat ini akan membuka jalan kesuksesannya di masa mendatang. Klub – klub itu telah terbukti melahirkan beberapa anggotanya menjadi pemimpin - pemimpin penting. Konon, Roosevelt dan Rockefeller dulunya adalah anggota klub Porcellian, klub tertua di Harvard.
Saverin sadar bahwa untuk menjadi seorang yang sukses di masa mendatang, dia harus terhubung dengan banyak orang yang sukses. Dengan tergabung pada sebuah klub, terbuka kesempatan baginya untuk terhubung dengan orang – orang yang sukses. Jadi, kata kunci agar sukses adalah “terhubung”. Namun, untuk menjadi anggota dari sebuah klub – klub terkenal di Harvard bukanlah perkara yang mudah. Terdapat seleksi ketat yang harus dilalui oleh mahasiswa yang diundang untuk bergabung dengan klub. “Terhubung” yang eksklusif ala klub ini nantinya akan diganti dengan “terhubung” ala facebook yang terbuka.
selanjutnya....(less)

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May 27, 2011 Lily Bart rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My God this SUCKS!!!!!!!!

It's not shocking that this book is so bad. Mark Zuckerberg has so much money and so much power that no one can force him to spill his guts. Lots of people resent that. But even assuming that the worst is true, about Mark and his empire, was Ben Mezrich the BEST author they could find to trash this guy?

Ben Mezrich doesn't write like someone who loves books, or who enjoys reading. He writes like he is blind drunk in a frat house at 3 AM, and trying to impress the other gu...more My God this SUCKS!!!!!!!!

It's not shocking that this book is so bad. Mark Zuckerberg has so much money and so much power that no one can force him to spill his guts. Lots of people resent that. But even assuming that the worst is true, about Mark and his empire, was Ben Mezrich the BEST author they could find to trash this guy?

Ben Mezrich doesn't write like someone who loves books, or who enjoys reading. He writes like he is blind drunk in a frat house at 3 AM, and trying to impress the other guys with how cool he is. It's so bad that at times you think it's some kind of scam, or he's pulling your leg. But he's not. He really THINKS he's becoming the next Jay McInerney or the next F. Scott Fitztgerald just by padding a (very) limited version of events with LONG, LONG, tedious descriptions. Here's an example.

"Eduardo drank a beer while Mark explained how FACEBOOK would actually work."

Ben Mezrich takes that kind of sentence and lets it fester and grow and swell, until it becomes something like a giant squid in a horror movie.

"Eduardo swallowed the cold beer, letting it chill his throat, letting it slide into his stomach, letting the alcohol numb the sense of inadequacy and fear that he tried so desperately to hide by getting in with the social elite at Harvard -- one of the oldest colleges in the country. Mark was explaining how FACEBOOK would actually work, but to Eduardo the words were just background. All he really focused on was the idea of being connected, belonging, having hundreds and hundreds of hot girls climbing all over him, rubbing up against him. giving him the attention he so desperately needed to forget that he was really just a nobody, a dark-skinned Jew from Miami. Mark could give him all these things -- all these things will I give you, Mark seemed to be saying, just like Dracula promising an endless feast of red-eyed rats to the quivering and submissive Renfield."

Okay, the last part was me, not Mezrich. But that's only because I've read books and been influenced by them. Where Ben Mezrich got his style I do not know -- and I hope I never find out.

One final note: after I dumped this book at the library I picked up another biography. PRETTY BOY by Charles Wallis. People say Mark Zuckerberg is a gangster. Pretty Boy Floyd was a REAL gangster, and yet today there are real, serious, GROWN UP biographers creating great works of literature exploring his life. What does Mark Zuckerberg have to do to get the same respect as Pretty Boy Floyd?(less)

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Apr 07, 2011 jess rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, audiobook-d

We listened to this audio book as a family on a drive from Olympia to San Francisco (Spring Break Whoo!) which was, first of all, no small feat of a drive because 1. one of us is fourteen 2. one of us had not slept more than 3 consecutive hours in several days 3. one of us (the primary driver) is neither a confident stick shift driver or very tolerant of being interrupted in the middle of audio book reading.

Somehow, though, the stupid facebook book managed to suck us all in and provided a fasci...more We listened to this audio book as a family on a drive from Olympia to San Francisco (Spring Break Whoo!) which was, first of all, no small feat of a drive because 1. one of us is fourteen 2. one of us had not slept more than 3 consecutive hours in several days 3. one of us (the primary driver) is neither a confident stick shift driver or very tolerant of being interrupted in the middle of audio book reading.

Somehow, though, the stupid facebook book managed to suck us all in and provided a fascinating backdrop for our journey down one of the finest interstates in our great nation. As Oregon laid out her wide flat agricultural expanses between peaks, I learned about the secret societies and social orders of Harvard Yard. When Mount Shasta showed herself to the east, I was lost in tales of Mark Zuckerberg going home with a Victoria Secret's model. It was the perfect sort of mindless, "You Know How it Ends" kind of story that we needed for the drive. Vaguely exciting and interesting enough to get you through six discs, but not so enthralling that you lose yourself in a 6% grade in a semi truck sandwich.

Is this a fine piece of literature? No. Is this one of the greatest, most exciting stories ever told? No. Is Zuckerberg kind of a backstabbing douche? Of course he is. He's also pretty smart, and even the douche-y things he does seem sort of justified. I mean, I can imagine them seeming reasonable to him in the context.

It was interesting to hear about the evolution of facebook (pre-wall, pre-newsfeed, back when it was called The Facebook) and think about how the world has changed. It is interesting to hear the story of a website that started pretty much so nerds could get laid and became one of the substantial forces in our world today. Whether you're on facebook or not, whether you love it or hate it, it is inescapably a defining force in our world, and the reason? Mark Zuckerberg. Maybe the new generation of the web, the social, networked, multifunctional internet we know today, would exist without facebook. It's possible. That means it's also possible that it wouldn't. Our lives might be different if Zuckerberg's little company had not happened and if the story had not unfolded in this way. Fascinating. (less)

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Mar 26, 2011 Tad Hopp rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the definition of page-turner. A gripping, quick read that I just could not put down. Since I had seen the movie ("The Social Network"), I knew the story already but still found myself pulled in by this account. As to how much of this book is true, it's hard to say. I would guess that there's more truth in here than Mark Zuckerberg would like us to believe. Admittedly, I would like to hear his side of the story but since he refuses to talk, we are left to speculate. Facebook has complete...more

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Feb 13, 2011 Jennifer marked it as to-read · review of another edition

There are a lot of things that fascinate me. The Ins of Harvard is one, Facebook is another.

Majoring in Computer Science I've interacted with more than my fare share of Zuk'rburg types. None of which share his level of intelligence but I am confident in saying that the minds behind the creation of the culture-beast that is facebook share a certain geek trait that I first encountered in undergrad and still fascinates me to this day.

You see the fascinating thing about a praised engineer is they p...more

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Jan 07, 2011 Kathy Hiester rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Accidental Billionaires is about the founding of Facebook. This book is based on interviews done by the author. Most of the book reads pretty easy anyone who has a Facebook account should definitely give it a go.

Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin, students at Harvard, both geeks who lack much of a social life. Eduardo is more interested in social activities than Mark and tries to join the Phoenix Harvard club. Mark, out of frustration, creates Facemash a site for rating girls which almost gets...more

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Nov 28, 2010 Murphy's Library rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

(from Murphy's Library - http://www.murphyslibrary.com/ - rated 2 and a half there)

If you have read the Murphy’s favorite books #3: Inkheart, Cornelia Funke, you know I gave up on reading the book after watching the movie. With The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook — A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal, the story was kinda similar—and before all the fans of this book start to yell at me, I said kinda. And, before you keep reading, I’d like to warn you that this is the longe...more (from Murphy's Library - http://www.murphyslibrary.com/ - rated 2 and a half there)

If you have read the Murphy’s favorite books #3: Inkheart, Cornelia Funke, you know I gave up on reading the book after watching the movie. With The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook — A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal, the story was kinda similar—and before all the fans of this book start to yell at me, I said kinda. And, before you keep reading, I’d like to warn you that this is the longest review I’ve written to Murphy’s Library so far. Sorry for those who like my short and objective reviews ;)

I found out about this book through the movie, just like with Inkeart. I saw the trailer before another movie and it caught my attention right away. I knew from that minute that I was going to watch The Social Network on the weekend after its release—and that’s what I did. I was so curious to see the story of how the Facebook was founded—but I was also dying to see more of Harvard from the POV of a student. I’ve been on Hardard—the Yard, the Square, the statue of the Three Lies, the Coop—for a lot of times since I moved to Boston, 10 months ago, and I always wondered how it is to be part of that. Also, I was curious to see it because one of the guys who was part of it is Brazilian. So I watched the movie, and after that I found myself thinking why I’ve never had any great idea like Mark Zuckerberg had—reaction that probably all geeks/nerds/whatever have after watching this movie.

For those who haven’t read the book or watched the movie yet, The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook — A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal tells the story of how Zuckerberg had the idea and started the nowadays worldwide known Facebook. It all started on a dormitory of the Kirkland house on the Harvad Campus—yes, for those who don’t know, Harvard‘s students are divided in houses, just like on Harry Potter, and this was the most comparison the Harvard student who was our guide on my first tour through the Campus used, he was always comparing Harvard with Hogwarts‘ system.

As you can imagine, Zuckerberg was a geek student who hadn’t have a lot of friends, an awkard genius—aren’t all of them awkard, after all?—, who became famous after creating a website called Facemash, where the visitors—essencially Harvard students—could choose the “hotter” person between the pictures of two girls (he hacked all the pictures from the Harvard houses’ websites). Of course, he got in trouble because of that website, and his reputation on the Campus was really bad. Right after that, he was contacted by three students, the twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra, who had an idea: the HarvardConnection, a website that would allow Harvard students to have an online profiles, a social network, but they weren’t programmers, so they couldn’t build the website’s code. And that was how Mark Zuckerberg had the idea for Facebook and asked his friend Eduardo Saverin to be his partner—Eduardo would put some money on the business and Mark would work on the code.

I’ve read some reviews about this book on the past few weeks, especially because the book has just been released in Brazil, so all the bloggers who don’t speak English are having the opportunity to read it before the movie is released—yes, what a shame, the movie is almost out of the theaters here in the US and it hasn’t even been released in Brazil! One of the things that people most talk about this book is that they can’t put it down until they’ve finished reading. In my case, though, it wasn’t really like that. It took me longer than usual to read this book—but, again, I blame myself, I’ve been through some of the crazier weeks I’ve ever had, so I haven’t had too much time for reading—, the narrative was too slow for me. But, well, maybe it was because I already knew how the story ends, once I saw it on The Social Network…

By the way, speaking of the movie, I saw just slight changes from the facts on the book, and as much as I understand that movie language and book language are different, I found myself wishing the book was told as the same way the movie was—while on the book we get to know the story in chronological order, on the movie we get to know it through the testimonials of Zuckerberg, Saverin, the Winklevoss twins and Narendra on the court. Yeah, sorry if you haven’t seen the trailer or the poster of this movie, but I thought it wasn’t such a big spoiler, once the movie’s marketing is clear: “You don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies.”

Anyway, I’d recommend this book for those who haven’t watched the movie yet—but only if you really like reading and has nothing more important to do. Unlike with Inkeart, I did finish reading this book, and somehow I enjoyed the reading, only reasons why this book is not on the next Murphy’s favorite books.(less)

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