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jhbandcats's review against another edition
5.0
Keefe’s dense, heavily researched account of the rise of the Sackler family (they developed Valium so they were knew about addiction from early on) and the way they created the opioid epidemic is absolutely maddening. To see them literally getting away with murder is, well, criminal.
Keefe interviewed two hundred people and had access to hundreds of thousands of pages of correspondence and depositions. He’s able to wade through this mass of information and create a cohesive, easily understood narrative. I know little about medicine and even less about business but the story he details was accessible even to a layman.
Literally more than half the book includes references, footnotes, an index - this is a phenomenally well-documented work. Everyone should read it. It’s a testament to how the rich control the lives of the rest of us.
Graphic: Medical content, Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Trafficking, Drug use, Gaslighting, Suicide, Addiction, Cancer, and Chronic illness
eelizard's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Medical trauma, Pandemic/Epidemic, Addiction, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Classism, Death, Drug abuse, and Medical content
jiao_li's review against another edition
4.25
I just finished "House of Gucci" not long ago, and it kinda gave me the same vibes as this book. Although I like this book more because Keefe's storytelling is really good. And the fact that the Sacklers are smarter (they're doctors after all) than the Guccis makes their story more interesting. Keefe's writing successfully portrays the Sacklers as intelligent but cunning figures.
The book's structure especially makes the reading more enjoyable, and it made the story flow seamlessly. I think Keefe's ability to evoke emotion is plausible. I like that he writes the Sacklers as greedy people who made people addicted to drugs because they were addicted to money.
Graphic: Drug abuse and Suicide
_meeg's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Medical trauma, Grief, Drug abuse, and Addiction
Moderate: Death
courtneyfalling's review against another edition
3.5
Moderate: Drug abuse
radmartigan's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Drug use, Pandemic/Epidemic, Drug abuse, and Addiction
ginnydw's review against another edition
4.75
Moderate: Drug use and Drug abuse
Minor: Suicide
korpney's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Suicide and Suicide attempt
laurenleigh's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use
Moderate: Medical content, Grief, Classism, Terminal illness, and Suicide
lottiestarling's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use
Moderate: Addiction