Antisocial Network, The

By Ben Mezrich

About the book

This is definitive take on the wildest story of the year— the David-vs.-Goliath GameStop short squeeze, a tale of fortunes won and lost overnight that may end up changing Wall Street forever. Bestselling author Ben Mezrich offers a gripping, beat-by-beat account of how a loosely affiliate group of private investors and internet trolls took down one of the biggest hedge funds on Wall Street, firing the first shot in a revolution that threatens to upend the financial establishment. It started on a subreddit forum called WallStreetBets – a meme-filled, freewheeling place where a disparate group of investors shared their shoot-the-moon investment tips, laughed about big losses, and posted diamond hand emojis. Until some members noticed an opportunity in Game Stop – a flailing bricks and mortar video-game retailer – and somehow rode a rocket ship to tens of millions of dollars in earnings overnight, simultaneously triggering unfathomable losses for one of the most respected funds on the street. In thrilling, pulse-pounding prose, THE ANTISOCIAL NETWORK offers a fascinating, never-beforeseen glimpse at the outsize personalities, dizzying swings, corporate drama, and underestimated American heroes and heroines who captivated the world during one of the most volatile weeks in financial history. It’s the amazing story of what just happened—and where we go from here. · Soon to be a major film: MGM has acquired the film rights and The Antisocial Network will be produced by Michael DeLuca, who also worked on the adaption of the Oscar-winning The Social Network, directed by the legendary David Fincher · A very hot topic: The Gamestop stock rise and fall took social media and the world by storm to become one of the biggest financial news stories of the year and a seminal moment in recent financial history · David vs Golitah: A hugely entertaining story in the tradition of Michael Lewis and The Wolf of Wall Street, pitting rag-tag investors against the dominant suits of Wall Street “Mezrich mans the conveyor belt at the factory that turns raw reality into its eventual slick cinematic depiction.”―New York Times “Mr. Mezrich, the author of bestsellers on topics ranging from the origins of Facebook to beating the odds at Las Vegas, tells the story of GameStop through the eyes of an array of characters, especially small investors who had little or no previous experience in the stock market.”―Wall Street Journal “The David vs. Goliath-esque GameStop short squeeze of Winter 2021 was undoubtedly one of the most entertaining stories of the year, and Mezrich brings new life to the whole thing in this look at the outrageous personalities and corporate drama that fuelled it.”―The New York Post