Includes bibliographical references (p. [340]-354) and index.

Prologue: the Facebook effect -- The beginning -- Palo Alto -- Social networking and the Internet -- Fall 2004 -- Investors -- Becoming a company -- Fall 2005 -- The CEO -- Privacy -- 2006 -- The platform -- $15 billion -- Making money -- Facebook and the world -- Changing our institutions -- The evolution of Facebook -- The future.

How did a nineteen-year-old Harvard student create a company that has transformed the Internet and how did he grow it to its current enormous size? In half a decade, Facebook has gone from a dorm-room novelty to a company with 500 million users. It is one of the fastest growing companies in history, an essential part of the social life not only of teenagers but millions of adults worldwide. As Facebook spreads around the globe, it creates surprising effects--even becoming instrumental in political protests. Veteran technology reporter David Kirkpatrick had the full cooperation of Facebook's key executives in researching the history of the company and its impact on our lives. Kirkpatrick tells us how Facebook was created, why it has flourished, and where it is going next. He chronicles its successes and missteps, and gives readers the most complete assessment anywhere of founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.--From publisher description.