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Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe
34 reviews
caseythereader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
5.0
- Pretty sure no one needs my endorsement to pick up EMPIRE OF PAIN at this point, but here it is. I don't read a ton of heavily reported nonfiction, but this is one you can't miss.
- Keefe is so good at discussing complicated people and topics in a conversational, easy to follow way.
- Even if you already know the basics of this story from news reports or other books like DOPESICK, I'm willing to bet there are still anecdotes in this book about the callousness of the people involved that will shock you. You think you know how greedy people can be, and yet.
- Also, this is a sort of irrelevant side note, but if this was fiction I would have dinged the author for seemingly transparently lifting Richard Sackler's personality from the characters in THE SECRET HISTORY, haha.
- Keefe is so good at discussing complicated people and topics in a conversational, easy to follow way.
- Even if you already know the basics of this story from news reports or other books like DOPESICK, I'm willing to bet there are still anecdotes in this book about the callousness of the people involved that will shock you. You think you know how greedy people can be, and yet.
- Also, this is a sort of irrelevant side note, but if this was fiction I would have dinged the author for seemingly transparently lifting Richard Sackler's personality from the characters in THE SECRET HISTORY, haha.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Antisemitism, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
kasey_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Addiction
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Suicide and Antisemitism
sarahasyouwish's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.5
Incredibly well-researched and thoroughly told. This book lays bare all the ways the Sackler family’s relentless drive for money and their company Purdue Pharma’s aggressive pushing of OxyContin contributed to the opioid epidemic and the subsequent surge in heroin. It was so frustrating to learn about the utter disregard this family had for those people whose lives were harmed by their product and how their money and influence reached out far enough to tip the hands of politicians and even the FDA in their favor.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Antisemitism
exmareadastra's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Death, Grief, and Medical content
Minor: Antisemitism and Child death
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