Synopses & Reviews
The inside story of Facebook, told with the full, exclusive cooperation of founder Mark Zuckerberg and the company's other leaders.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;In little more than half a decade,andlt;Bandgt; andlt;/Bandgt;Facebook has gone from a dorm-room novelty to a company with 500 million users. It is one of the fastest growing companies in history, an essential part of the social life not only of teenagers but hundreds of millions of adults worldwide. As Facebook spreads around the globe, it creates surprising effectsand#8212;even becoming instrumental in political protests from Colombia to Iran.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; Veteran technology reporter David Kirkpatrick had the full cooperation of Facebookand#8217;s key executives in researching this fascinating history of the company and its impact on our lives. Kirkpatrick tells us how Facebook was created, why it has flourished, and where it is going next. He chronicles its successes and missteps, and gives readers the most complete assessment anywhere of founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the central figure in the companyand#8217;s remarkable ascent. This is the Facebook story that can be found nowhere else.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; How did a nineteen-year-old Harvard student create a company that has transformed the Internet and how did he grow it to its current enormous size? Kirkpatrick shows how Zuckerberg steadfastly refused to compromise his vision, insistently focusing on growth over profits and preaching that Facebook must dominate (his word) communication on the Internet. In the process, he and a small group of key executives have created a company that has changed social life in the United States and elsewhere, a company that has become a ubiquitous presence in marketing, altering politics, business, and even our sense of our own identity. This is the Facebook Effect.
Review
and#8220;Kirkpatrick tells a gripping tale of how the company was created and came to such dominance. As someone who followed the story almost from day one, I was still enlightened, entertained and sometimes dumbfounded by the rich detail and juicy goings-on.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;Don Tapscott, andlt;iandgt;The Globe and Mailandlt;/iandgt; (Toronto)
Review
"This is a fantastic book, filled with great reporting and colorful narrative. The human drama of Mark Zuckerberg and his colleagues gives an exciting glimpse of how to launch a game-changing startup." andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; --Walter Isaacson, author of andlt;iandgt;Einstein: His Life and Universe andlt;BRandgt; andlt;/iandgt;
Review
and#8220;Kirkpatrickand#8217;s telling of the early days of Facebook is exciting. . . . His reporting skills are impressive.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; --Rachel Metz, andlt;iandgt;Associated Pressandlt;/iandgt;
Review
and#8220;A thoughtful, even-handed analysis of the Web siteand#8217;s impact. . . . andlt;iandgt;The Facebook Effectandlt;/iandgt; leaves you with a deep understanding of Facebook, its philosophies and, most startlingly, its power.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; --David Pogue, andlt;iandgt;The New York Times Book Reviewandlt;/iandgt;
Review
and#8220;andlt;iandgt;The Facebook Effectandlt;/iandgt; is actually two books in one. One part is the exhaustively reported story of Facebookand#8217;s founding and meteoric rise to near ubiquity; the other is a thoughtful analysis of its impact."andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; --Ethan Gilsdorf, andlt;iandgt;The Boston Globeandlt;/iandgt;
Review
"Engrossing. . . . A detailed and scrupulously fair history of [Facebook]."
--Rich Jaroslovsky, Bloomberg Businessweek
Review
"Fast-paced. . . . makes for gripping reading."
--G. Pascal Zachary, The San Francisco Chronicle
Review
"A fascinating book."
--Dan Fletcher, Time
Review
"Kirkpatrick's amazing reporting details what happens when a hacker culture turns into a multi-billion-dollar firm.
Review
and#8220;Kirkpatrick gives the reader a detailed understanding of how the company grew from a 2004 Harvard dorm-room project into the worldand#8217;s second-most-visited site after Google."andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; --Michiko Kakutani, andlt;iandgt;The New York Timesandlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; andlt;/iandgt;
Review
"Kirkpatrick does the best job yet of making sense of Facebook's founder, 26-year-old Mark Zuckerberg. . . . Is Zuckerberg a genius?
Review
and#8220;Kirkpatrickand#8217;s amazing reporting details what happens when a hacker culture turns into a multi-billion-dollar firm. Mark Zuckerberg sought to maintain that hacker energy, and it and#8217;s fascinating to read what resulted.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; --Chris Anderson, editor of andlt;iandgt;Wiredandlt;/iandgt; and author of andlt;iandgt;The Long Tailandlt;/iandgt;
Review
and#8220;Engrossing. . . . A detailed and scrupulously fair history of [Facebook].and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; --Rich Jaroslovsky, andlt;iandgt;Bloomberg Businessweekandlt;BRandgt; andlt;/iandgt;
Review
and#8220;A fascinating book.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; --Dan Fletcher, andlt;iandgt;Timeandlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; andlt;/iandgt;
Review
and#8220;Fast-paced. . . . makes for gripping reading.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;--G. Pascal Zachary, andlt;iandgt;The San Francisco Chronicleandlt;/iandgt;
Review
and#8220;Kirkpatrick does the best job yet of making sense of Facebookand#8217;s founder, 26-year-old Mark Zuckerberg. . . . Is Zuckerberg a genius? A flake? A bit of both? The book explains how his many facets fit together.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;George Anders, andlt;iandgt;Forbesandlt;/iandgt;
Synopsis
The inside story of Facebook, told with the full, exclusive cooperation of founder Mark Zuckerberg and the company's other leaders.
In little more than half a decade, Facebook has gone from a dorm-room novelty to a company with 500 million users. It is one of the fastest growing companies in history, an essential part of the social life not only of teenagers but hundreds of millions of adults worldwide. As Facebook spreads around the globe, it creates surprising effects--even becoming instrumental in political protests from Colombia to Iran.
Veteran technology reporter David Kirkpatrick had the full cooperation of Facebook's key executives in researching this fascinating history of the company and its impact on our lives. Kirkpatrick tells us how Facebook was created, why it has flourished, and where it is going next. He chronicles its successes and missteps, and gives readers the most complete assessment anywhere of founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the central figure in the company's remarkable ascent. This is the Facebook story that can be found nowhere else.
How did a nineteen-year-old Harvard student create a company that has transformed the Internet and how did he grow it to its current enormous size? Kirkpatrick shows how Zuckerberg steadfastly refused to compromise his vision, insistently focusing on growth over profits and preaching that Facebook must dominate (his word) communication on the Internet. In the process, he and a small group of key executives have created a company that has changed social life in the United States and elsewhere, a company that has become a ubiquitous presence in marketing, altering politics, business, and even our sense of our own identity. This is the Facebook Effect.
About the Author
andlt;bandgt;David Kirkpatrick andlt;/bandgt;was for many years the senior editor for internet and technology at andlt;iandgt;Fortuneandlt;/iandgt; magazine. While at andlt;iandgt;Fortune,andlt;/iandgt; he wrote cover stories about Apple, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Sun, and numerous other technology subjects. Beginning in 2001, he created andlt;iandgt;Fortuneandlt;/iandgt;and#8217;s Brainstorm conference series. More recently, he organized the Techonomy conference on the centrality of technology innovation for all human activity. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and appears frequently on television, radio, and the Internet as an expert on technology.