
Facebook: The Inside Story

With 26 ratings
By: Steven Levy, Will Damron, et al.
Purchased At: $30.00
"Levy’s all-access Facebook reflects the reputational swan dive of its subject.... The result is evenhanded and devastating.” (San Francisco Chronicle)
“[Levy’s] evenhanded conclusions are still damning.” (Reason)
“[He] doesn’t shy from asking the tough questions.” (The Washington Post)
“Reminds you the HBO show Silicon Valley did not have to reach far for its satire.” (NPR.org)
The definitive history, packed with untold stories, of one of America’s most controversial and powerful companies: Facebook.
As a college sophomore, Mark Zuckerberg created a simple website to serve as a campus social network.
Today, Facebook is nearly unrecognizable from its first, modest iteration. In light of recent controversies surrounding election-influencing “fake news” accounts, the handling of its users’ personal data, and growing discontent with the actions of its founder and CEO - who has enormous power over what the world sees and says - never has a company been more central to the national conversation.
Millions of words have been written about Facebook, but no one has told the complete story, documenting its ascendancy and missteps. There is no denying the power and omnipresence of Facebook in American daily life, or the imperative of this audiobook to document the unchecked power and shocking techniques of the company, from growing at all costs to outmaneuvering its biggest rivals to acquire WhatsApp and Instagram to developing a platform so addictive even some of its own are now beginning to realize its dangers.
Based on hundreds of interviews inside and outside the company, Levy’s sweeping narrative of incredible entrepreneurial success and failure digs deep into the whole story of the company that has changed the world and reaped the consequences.
In short, don't believe everything you read—especially when written by journalists who boast about years of access to billionaires and their accomplices. Access journalism isn't journalism, it's corporate propaganda, and this is sadly no different.
Levy cannot write for more than a few pages without hurling insults at Facebook, Zuck, or any of its many employees. Seriously - open up and read any few pages at random to see for yourself. There's nothing objective about this writing; a smear campaign, at best.
Don't just take my word for it - read Aaron Greenspan's one-star review of this book, where he calls out Levy for his factuallly inaccurate retelling of Aaron's story from their interview together in 2018 (Greenspan is a former college friend of Zuck's, who makes a number of appearances in the earlier chapters of the book.) Why would Levy intentionally misrepresent the facts if he was not biased in his feelings and sentiments towards Zuck, Facebook, or any of its employees?
This is so dishonest I don't know how Levy views himelf as a person with integrity. I highly reccomend never buying this fiction.