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The Inside Story

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Written by: Steven Levy
Narrated by: Will Damron
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One of the Best Technology Books of 2020—Financial Times

“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 book 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 from inside and outside Facebook, 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.
Business Entrepreneurship History & Culture Internet & Social Media Professionals & Academics Science & Technology Small Business & Entrepreneurship Technology Inspiring Witty Silicon Valley Computer Science
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This is a great, detailed, journalistic look into the history of Facebook and it's sociopathic leadership. It does present things in a fair and generally unbiased way, giving credit to positive elements where it's due and whether you like Facebook or not (I don't if it isn't obvious), there are valuable things to take from this. As always, Will Damron does a fantastic job as the reader.

My only mild criticism is that the story tends to jump back and forth in time a lot and if you aren't paying close attention, you may lose track of where things are and what point in history certain events took place. I didn't have much trouble with this but others might.

If you have followed the news about Facebook over the years, some of what's relayed might sound like old news but even as someone who does, I took a lot from this. Never have I been happier to have removed Facebook from my life. You should consider it too.

Great look into one of the world's worst companies

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