Mezrich goes light on technology details in the book, though does dip into some of the server issues related to supporting Facebook and re-imagines an all-night hackfest by a Bill Gates-worshipping Zuckerberg that gets him in hot water at Harvard before thefacebook concept even emerges.

Other memorable sections of the book include a tense meeting involving ex-Harvard President Larry Summers (described as the first to have a computer – a Dell – in his office) and a behind-the-scenes look at Harvard's private clubs.

The book does get repetitive (yes, we get that Zuckerberg is a geek and have his catchphrase "That could be interesting" pounded into our heads). And I cringed at overwrought descriptions of Facebook adversaries Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss rowing on the Charles River (as an ex-rower, I'm hypersensitive to authors' inability to write about the sport without getting flowery).

Having said that, I found the 260-or-so page book a quick read, consuming it over the weekend. And this despite the fact that I can't claim to be among the most aggressive of .  Mezrich had an earlier book – "Bringing Down the House," about Massachusetts Institute of Technology students/card counters who won big in Vegas -- converted into the Kevin Spacey movie called " He already has a deal in place, also involving Spacey, to get this book made into a movie, probably for release in 2011 as "The Social Network." I do question whether it's really going to fly as a movie though, especially in light of how fast the whole world of social networking is changing. There could be far more interesting stories to tell by then.