Why You Can Trust CNET Facebook tell-all 'Accidental Billionaires' on sale in July
Penned by "Bringing Down the House" author Ben Mezrich, the lingerie-and-martini-adorned cover promises intrigue and scandal. Whether it's the truth, well, that's less certain.
This one sure snuck up on us: "The Accidental Billionaires," author Ben Mezrich's presumably tawdry take on Facebook's origins, is hitting bookshelves on July 14.
Last we'd heard, it was getting released this fall.
You probably know the plot by now: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, along with Harvard classmate Eduardo Saverin ( a co-founder who is no longer affiliated with Facebook and has had some legal beef with Zuckerberg over the years) allegedly started the site to meet women. In due time, they got rich and out of control. Or at least that's how Mezrich, famed for his tales of wild, young success at elite universities, writes it. A leaked book proposal last year showed some signs of inaccuracies.
A columnist at The Daily Beast has already named it one of her "13 Hottest Summer Reads." And actor Kevin Spacey, who produced and starred in "21," the film adaptation of Mezrich's book "Bringing Down The House," wrote a blurb for Amazon.com about it.
"'The Accidental Billionaires' is the perfect pairing of author and subject," Spacey summarized. "It's pure summer fun--a juicy, fast-paced, unputdownable Mezrich tale that adds to his canon of lad lit."
I'm taking "lad lit" to mean "chick lit for dudes." And it sure looks like a salacious read: the description on the cover reads "The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal." The artwork features two martini glasses--one full, with olives, the other partially smashed with a Harvard-logo cocktail stirrer lying beside it--and a red, lacy brassiere.
Apparently, it'll all get even juicier soon. Facebook reportedly isn't too pleased about the book's debut, and Hollywood veteran Aaron Sorkin has been tapped to handle the film adaptation.
UPDATE (10:36 a.m. PT): This probably goes without saying, but Facebook representatives have declined comment on the topic of "The Accidental Billionaires."