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groovus's review against another edition
5.0
Excellently written, perfect balance of history, facts, and characters. So much I never knew. Definitely a unique vantage point into the Sacklers
aa2q7's review against another edition
4.0
I preferred "Say Nothing" just because of the subject/narrative, but "Empire of Pain" was still fascinating. The reporting is excellent, the Sackler fam is very.. yikes.
dragon7's review against another edition
5.0
This is a page turner, thanks to the excellent research by Keefe to go way back to the origins of the DNA of the Sackler family and there attitude to business, and disregard for the impact their drugs, OxyContin, had on people given the propensity for addiction using these drugs. They aided and exacerbated America's opioid crisis and none have gone to jail and have managed to outsmart politicians and the courts, and have art-washed their role in society by having their Sacklar name on art galleries around the world. But when artist Nan Goldin took them on, thorough her impromptu art displays at galleries with the Sacklar name, their world started to crumble. All this is detailed in Keefe's book.
nancyfletcher's review against another edition
5.0
Incredible research and reporting. Powerful, heartbreaking and infuriating. One of the best non-fiction books I've read.
bermudaonion's review against another edition
5.0
A few years ago, I read several books about America’s opioid crisis with fascination and revulsion. Those books detailed Purdue Pharma’s aggressive marketing of OxyContin, their cash cow product but didn’t share much about the family that owned the company. Keefe gives a detailed history of the family from the time they immigrated to the US and I found it riveting and horrifying at the same time. The Sacklers were generous with their money to philanthropic organizations (as long as they could get their name plastered on buildings) even as they sat back and watched while their product devastated families - they even urged people to use more of it more often. If you enjoy narrative nonfiction and social issues, this book is a must read - I’ll be recommending it a lot.
nonnaanna's review against another edition
5.0
This was a monster of a book. I've read a couple of other books that were about the opioid crisis or mentioned it in some capacity, but none of them took this deep of a dive into who the Sackler family was and their intimate role in creating and perpetuating the opioid epidemic. Kudos to the author for his commitment to thoroughly researching the family and literally suing a government agency to get the information he needed and that the public deserved.
On a more personal note, this book was both informative and equally devastating at the same time.
Also, this: https://youtu.be/fHii-R0REzQ?si=wgCXUjQn7b2PF4fQ
On a more personal note, this book was both informative and equally devastating at the same time.
Also, this: https://youtu.be/fHii-R0REzQ?si=wgCXUjQn7b2PF4fQ
bv94's review against another edition
5.0
What a well researched and written book. For a non fiction it was so engrossing and read like a mystery/mafia kind of book. The author goes over 3 generations of Sacklers. From the migration of Arthur’s parents and how their humble beginnings motivated Arthur to find creative ways to earn through high school. Arthur started out as hardworking with noble intentions. However he also had this notion to leave a legacy behind like Rockefeller etc and that was when he kept the pharmaceutical industry separate from philanthropy. The slow progress into building the evil empire of opioids shows how not just the family played a role but all the agencies that are place to protect the public from such evil slowly play into Arthur’s orchestration. Oxycotin and the deception that went with it is just alarming to read. And the deception went on for several years before it was even investigated. A splendid book from start to finish by the investigative journalist Patrick Radden Keefe.
It’s gut wrenching how lives mattered so little to the Sackler family as well as all the agencies in cahoots with the Sackler family.
It’s gut wrenching how lives mattered so little to the Sackler family as well as all the agencies in cahoots with the Sackler family.
nyclauren's review against another edition
4.0
Audiobook - very dense and tough subject matter. I’m glad I listened to this book, rather than read it.