Gawker reports that Ben Mezrich, a Harvard graduate and author of a 'non-fiction' account of MIT students making it big in Las Vegas, has received a million dollar contract to write a book about Facebook. Mezrich's book proposal claims that his source co-founder, Eduardo Saverin, anticipated a Fall 2008 IPO for Facebook. But Facebook denies the claim. To go public this fall, Facebook would have had to register by now.

Here are some other story elements from Gawker:

• Founder Mark Zuckerberg and Severin started Facebook to help get into an exclusive Harvard Final club
• They also thought Facebook would boost their social life
• In high school, Zuckerberg got on an FBI list for accidentally hacking into a government site
• Zuckerberg and Severin "ate koala on the yacht of the CEO of Sun Microsystems" (NASDAQ: JAVA)

Meanwhile Zuckerberg has sued Saverin, claiming "Saverin tried to hijack the company by freezing its bank account when Facebook desperately needed cash in its formative months." And Saverin countersued for a return on his initial investment.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.