Facebookery

Two books in one post, as they are vastly different in quality despite both being about a fascinating and infuriating subject, everyone's favorite time-waster: Facebook.

1. The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal

Author: Ben Mezrich

Rating: 2 Stars

Review:

If I read the word 'surmise' one more time...

Additionally:

Literally, that was my whole review. I read this a couple years ago, and even now that is all I remember thinking once I had finished it. It could have been so much better, there was potential. But this book was not good, and the only way they could get people to read it was by putting 'sex' first, when clearly genius should have held that spot. Then money, then sex, then betrayal. It was all conjecture. Everything was 'may have' and 'probably' and 'likely' type words. Ugh.

2. The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company that is Connecting the World

Author: David Kirkpatrick

Rating: 3 Stars

Review:

Clearly Kirkpatrick has done his research; the book is incredibly well-written and gives a great history of everyone's favorite way to waste time online. The only flaw really is that it was clearly written with a pro-Facebook slant. You'd just expect a journalist to be a little more objective - even one who says in the 'Note on Reporting for This Book' that no one from Facebook required approval beforehand, nor did they request a copy before it was released. Still, definitely worth the read.

Additionally:

I would definitely recommend this book over the former, despite the bias. At least Kirkpatrick had access to information. Even with the pro-Facebook bias, it is still the better book. You just have to recognize that as you read. Had that not existed, I could have rated this 4 Stars.