The Facebook Effect by David Kirkpatrick

Today - six years after it was created in a Harvard dorm room - over 500 million people use Facebook regularly, in just about every country on earth. That a company this powerful and influential was started as a lark by a couple of 19-year-olds makes it a fascinating and surprising tale. That one of them, the visionary Mark Zuckerberg, had the maturity, strategic smarts and luck to keep his company ahead of its rivals anchors the tale. With exclusive inside access to all the company's leaders David Kirkpatrick tells of the vision, the tenacity, the refusal to compromise, and the vision Zuckerberg has to remake the internet. A brilliant and fascinating cast of characters created Facebook and Kirkpatrick has interviewed all of them. Never before have Zuckerberg and his closest colleagues told what really happened as they built their dynamo while eating fast food, staying up all night, and thumbing their noses at how things are usually done.

I loved this book. And I think everyone who uses Facebook and everyone who doesn't even have a Facebook account (yes, @DoodlesofaJourno, I'm talking to you!) should read it. So yeah, literally, everyone. I guess it is kinda weird having it come so hot on the heels of the movie The Social Network (which I also loved), but this is completely different. This is the real story, not the Hollywood version. This barely mentions the lawsuits and whatnots, it's more about how the company came about and grew the way it did. Make no mistake, I have a huge amount of respect for Mark Zuckerburg and what he's managed to achieve. Damn, but I wish I'd been around when this was just getting started. It must've been quite amazing to be involved in.