Book Review: The Accidental Billionaires

September 2, 2009

The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal, by Ben Mezrich

As a geek passionate about social media and networking online, I was intrigued by the summary of this book. I mean, who wouldn’t be? The founding of Facebook? Money, sex, betrayal, genius? accidental_billionaires You couldn’t POSSIBLY find a more attractive title than that! After reading the book, however, all I can think of to say, in CEO Zuckerberg’s supposed own words, was that it was “interesting.”

Was it fascinating to learn the details of the names and events surrounding Facebook’s creation and growth? Yes. Did it peak my curiosity about Mark Zuckerberg, Sean Parker, the Winklevoss twins, and the many other real-life characters it introduced? Yes. Was it overly dramatic, poorly written, and almost embarassingly corny? Yes, yes, YES.

Go into The Accidental Billionaires with the knowledge that it’s not going to be the actual written words that will inspire you – they’ll more likely annoy you – but instead the general feeling of inspiration and curiosity that the dorm room-to-riches story leaves you with upon walking away from the last page.

It’s got a pretty catchy cover, too, but you know what they say about that…
1.5/5 stars

Previous post:

Next post: