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Comment by NickC25 | Hacker News Reader

Well, that settles it - I'll have to buy a copy and give it a read.

Hey Mark, want people to not read it? How about you go donate a few hundred billion to the country and communities that supported you and your company from day 1, instead of avoiding taxation and building a doomsday bunker in New Zealand.

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> Well, that settles it - I'll have to buy a copy and give it a read.

Honestly, I’ll be surprised if this turns out to be any different than all of the other “explosive tell-all memoirs” of the past. These books usually play into people’s desire to believe that the enemy of their enemy is their friend. Then you read the book and realize that the author is trying really hard to paint themselves as an outsider despite being suspiciously involved with the people you’re supposed to dislike.

I suspect this lawsuit was predicted and possibly welcomed for the publicity. It’s amazing how many people are rushing to give this person money because they think it will hurt Meta, even though they’ll probably roll their eyes at gossipy memoir books like this. At least take a few seconds to watch the interviews with the author to realize what type of person you’re aligning with. If you’re expecting an anti-Zuckerberg hero you’re probably going to be disappointed when you realize you’ve been tricked into giving money and attention to another person who was gunning for the executive ranks of Meta using the same tricks and behaviors as everyone else.

>Honestly, I’ll be surprised if this turns out to be any different than all of the other “explosive tell-all memoirs” of the past. These books usually play into people’s desire to believe that the enemy of their enemy is their friend. Then you read the book and realize that the author is trying really hard to paint themselves as an outsider despite being suspiciously involved with the people you’re supposed to dislike.

Great point. You're probably spot-on.

Aye, very valid indeed, but you need to go into it aware of the author's biases and read on the basis of that. Doesn't stop a book being (vaguely) true, and certainly doesn't get in the way of enjoyment. Another good example here is the fantastic All the Worst Humans by Phil Elwood[0], can't think of a more unreliable narrator than a PR guy.

I picked Careless People up the other day and it's a hoot. All the very valid caveats aside, it's well worth a read. The author was deeply involved in their international diplomacy, and the stories about FB interacting with governments are _wild_, even with a pinch of salt. Loving it so far.

[^0] https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/jul/03/all-th...

Spent a lot of this evening reading this book and hoot turned to horror.

I feel the need to scrub every shred of Meta from my existence.

That's all true but doesn't mean Meta should be able to quash the publishing and doesn't invalidate them wanting to buy the book to push back against corporate control of criticism.

Ehh, I'll take more knowledge and accounts on the inside, even if the reporter themselves gleefully implemented them with no regrets. I'm not trying to find heroes, I just want to seek the truth. Tit for tat in my eyes, no altruistic party here.

I too am going to buy one and read, but genuinely curious what made you support Mark in the beginning of Facebook? Wasn’t he always known as a douchebag even in his university days?

I used Facebook back in 2005. I was in high school, it was cool.

In 2006, my friend (who went to Temple in Scarsdale, NY with the Zuckerberg family) told me in no uncertain terms that Mark was easily the biggest egotistical asshole he'd ever met - a highly intelligent but deeply unethical jerk and overall not a good person. I stopped using Facebook then and there.

I then found out that the Winklevoss twins were involved. I'm from their hometown. They are not good people. I haven't touched a Meta/FB product since then save for WhatsApp. My business has an IG page but I don't touch it.

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