Ben Mezrich is drawing lots of attention -- and lots of flak -- these days for his new book, The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal. Let's set aside my  disdain for ridiculously long, colon-ized book titles, and get right to the point: Is he playing fast and loose with the facts?

I'm a strict constructionist when it comes to non-fiction. I have tremendous respect for authors such as John McPhee, who can make complex subjects come alive with their reporting and writing. But I have little patience for folks who bend the truth to suit their needs. That's why I'll probably never pick up a James Frey book. Mezrich's method of crafting composite characters and embellishing scenes has been deconstructed and criticized before, notably in relation to Busting Vegas his book about MIT kids who developed a method to win big at blackjack in Vegas.

Now, critics are asking whether he took the same liberties in his new book about the founding of Facebook. The Baltimore Sun will look at the issue this Sunday, and readers can ask Mezrich when he appears at a reading at the Enoch Pratt library Tuesday, July 21 at 6:30 p.m.

But as a strict constructionist, I'm giving Mezrich a pass -- for now. Busting Vegas includes a disclaimer that some events and individuals are composites. In Accidental Billionaires, a more prominent author's note says "details of settings and descriptions have been changed or imagined." I do worry that Mezrich, in interviews, seems to brush off the disclaimers, as if his narratives build a "truth" that is truer than the facts. ("The idea that the story is true, is more important than being able to prove that it's true," he told the Boston Globe last year.) That's a losing argument, Ben. Drop it.

So caveat emptor. Enjoy the book, but don't confuse it with real life -- any more than you'd consider reality TV shows to be reality.