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Fact-Challenged Facebook Book Not Making Many Friends
Author Mezrich defends his reporting methods
By Kevin Spak
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Posted Jul 15, 09 1:32 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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Not everybody is friending a book detailing the birth of Facebook, Reuters reports. BusinessWeek calls Ben Mezrich’s The Accidental Billionaires a “tawdry mismash,” amounting to “a fictionalized account of the founding.” The book is full of over-the-top scenes—like one in which Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg breaks into a Harvard dorm to hack a computer server, then hides behind a sofa as a couple has sex in the room.
Mezrich stands by his book, saying he followed standard journalistic practices, interviewing sources and collecting facts. But critics point out that he never even interviewed Zuckerberg. “Ben Mezrich clearly aspires to be the Jackie Collins or Danielle Steel of Silicon Valley,” said a Facebook spokesman. Mezrich admits he’s “more into entertainment than literature,” counting John Grisham and Stephen King among his “heroes.”