Scan barcode
grumpalaurus's review against another edition
5.0
No individual human has any need for a billion dollars, let alone several billion. If you aren't convinced of that, read this book.
The day after I finished this book, a federal judge in NY ruled that the Sackler family could not be exempt from civil lawsuits related to the opioid epidemic, as they had so scrupulously stipulated in their paltry, pathetic, and evil settlement earlier in 2021. Thank the powers that be for that. Here's hoping they actually end up answering, in some way, for their crimes against humanity.
The day after I finished this book, a federal judge in NY ruled that the Sackler family could not be exempt from civil lawsuits related to the opioid epidemic, as they had so scrupulously stipulated in their paltry, pathetic, and evil settlement earlier in 2021. Thank the powers that be for that. Here's hoping they actually end up answering, in some way, for their crimes against humanity.
taylandy's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting, a little dense at times, but still doesn’t shy away from the fact that the Sacklers will burn in hell
bhargavir's review against another edition
4.0
Everyone should definitely read Empire of Pain if you want to be enraged, education, and engrossed.
Empire of Pain is an unrelenting look at the role the Sackler family has played in the growing opioid crisis in America. While the book is rife with facts and research, with separate sections detailing the Sackler's descent into power and wealth, it doesn't fail to pull emotion out of the reader as well. The writing is phenomenal, yes, but the emotion that resonated with me the most while reading this book was rage. If you want a light non-fiction read, or want something that will be easy, this is not the book for you. Keefe takes the reader through the heartbreaking history of the opioid crisis, and the blatant, cruel, and malicious actions on the part of the Sackler family. It's not enough to say they were compliant in creating the crisis, because without them, the crisis wouldn't have been possible to the level it was. While I believe everyone needs to read this book to be properly aware of their role in the worst epidemic the United States has seen in recent decades, I caution all readers that it did make me angry, rightfully so, many times over the course of the book.
Despite the Sackler family's abhorrant actions, however, Keefe never turns them into larger than life or cartoonishly evil characters. His writing is so comprehensive and detailed that we can see how incrementally the Sacklers built the empire that would allow them to take control of the opioid marketplace to such a massive degree with their release of OxyContin in the 1990s. Keefe's book starts decades prior, and slowly but effectively weaves the path the Sackler's built, making sure to spend time on famous places that bear the Sackler name, such as the Met. While such comprehensive writing may seem boring, Keefe masterfully treads the line between informative and inundation, allowing the reader to comprehend how each of the actions taken by the Sackler family fits into a larger plan.
Keefe's writing is nonfiction that reads like fiction, repeatedly harkening back to themes and concepts he touches on numerous times throughout his novel. Using this narrative approach, Keefe allows the reader to put together the pieces of understanding the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma's role in the opioid crisis without spelling it out to readers, making for a much more grim and satisfying understanding. The book jumps between the actions of individual Sackler family members (including the actions of their wives and children) and the repercussions their company has on the American public and their workers, with many employees at Purdue Pharma appearing to drive the point him. Through this cast of characters, Keefe shows not only how the Sacklers created a cult of personality within their company, amplifying the corporate culture that would allow them to manufacture and sell OxyContin to Americans the way they did, but he also shows how every decision regarding OxyContin was made by the Sacklers to benefit them. By expanding the scope of his investigation beyond the opioid crisis and the Sackler role primarily in pharma, and taking a more holistic approach, Keefe does something not yet done: he shows how only the Sacklers, really, could have created this crisis. The reader slowly comes to understand how monumental the role of the Sacklers was in creating the crisis, and thus, his book has done his job.
Along with heartbreaking stories of addicts who have lost their lives to the drug, the family they leave behind, and the "legacy" of the Sackler family, Keefe's book is a testament to the recent public reckoning that has been recurring in regards to the opioid crisis, and reminds us that the real villains are often hiding in plain sight.
Empire of Pain is an unrelenting look at the role the Sackler family has played in the growing opioid crisis in America. While the book is rife with facts and research, with separate sections detailing the Sackler's descent into power and wealth, it doesn't fail to pull emotion out of the reader as well. The writing is phenomenal, yes, but the emotion that resonated with me the most while reading this book was rage. If you want a light non-fiction read, or want something that will be easy, this is not the book for you. Keefe takes the reader through the heartbreaking history of the opioid crisis, and the blatant, cruel, and malicious actions on the part of the Sackler family. It's not enough to say they were compliant in creating the crisis, because without them, the crisis wouldn't have been possible to the level it was. While I believe everyone needs to read this book to be properly aware of their role in the worst epidemic the United States has seen in recent decades, I caution all readers that it did make me angry, rightfully so, many times over the course of the book.
Despite the Sackler family's abhorrant actions, however, Keefe never turns them into larger than life or cartoonishly evil characters. His writing is so comprehensive and detailed that we can see how incrementally the Sacklers built the empire that would allow them to take control of the opioid marketplace to such a massive degree with their release of OxyContin in the 1990s. Keefe's book starts decades prior, and slowly but effectively weaves the path the Sackler's built, making sure to spend time on famous places that bear the Sackler name, such as the Met. While such comprehensive writing may seem boring, Keefe masterfully treads the line between informative and inundation, allowing the reader to comprehend how each of the actions taken by the Sackler family fits into a larger plan.
Keefe's writing is nonfiction that reads like fiction, repeatedly harkening back to themes and concepts he touches on numerous times throughout his novel. Using this narrative approach, Keefe allows the reader to put together the pieces of understanding the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma's role in the opioid crisis without spelling it out to readers, making for a much more grim and satisfying understanding. The book jumps between the actions of individual Sackler family members (including the actions of their wives and children) and the repercussions their company has on the American public and their workers, with many employees at Purdue Pharma appearing to drive the point him. Through this cast of characters, Keefe shows not only how the Sacklers created a cult of personality within their company, amplifying the corporate culture that would allow them to manufacture and sell OxyContin to Americans the way they did, but he also shows how every decision regarding OxyContin was made by the Sacklers to benefit them. By expanding the scope of his investigation beyond the opioid crisis and the Sackler role primarily in pharma, and taking a more holistic approach, Keefe does something not yet done: he shows how only the Sacklers, really, could have created this crisis. The reader slowly comes to understand how monumental the role of the Sacklers was in creating the crisis, and thus, his book has done his job.
Along with heartbreaking stories of addicts who have lost their lives to the drug, the family they leave behind, and the "legacy" of the Sackler family, Keefe's book is a testament to the recent public reckoning that has been recurring in regards to the opioid crisis, and reminds us that the real villains are often hiding in plain sight.
jillybebe's review against another edition
5.0
Terrific recounting of how Big Pharma has us all by the cojones.
jenniferharris's review against another edition
5.0
Shocking, eye opening, and very well researched and written.
alyssaisreading's review against another edition
5.0
i definitely sprinted through this book. i was captivated by the story and how the author portrayed the sackler family. it was really interesting to learn about the beginnings of the medical advertisement industry, and the ways super rich people can remain rich.
it is mind boggling to me that the sackler family never admitted any kind of guilt or wrong doing about causing the opioid crisis, and never faced any significant repercussions because of their actions. the whole book felt like it was building towards their reckoning, and it was so upsetting that it never happened.
i plan to watch all the beauty and the bloodshed now!
i think my favorite types of books are investigative journalism that are told as stories, as this book gripped me the way under the banner of heaven and into thin air did. i plan to read other books by this author, but i think i need a fun crime thriller as a break.
it is mind boggling to me that the sackler family never admitted any kind of guilt or wrong doing about causing the opioid crisis, and never faced any significant repercussions because of their actions. the whole book felt like it was building towards their reckoning, and it was so upsetting that it never happened.
i plan to watch all the beauty and the bloodshed now!
i think my favorite types of books are investigative journalism that are told as stories, as this book gripped me the way under the banner of heaven and into thin air did. i plan to read other books by this author, but i think i need a fun crime thriller as a break.
tylieolson's review against another edition
5.0
Incredible writing; I felt sick to my stomach and filled with rage. The Sackler family did a great job of hiding the blood on their hands, but this book reveals how evil they truly are. I hope in time they get what they deserve, but this public exposure is a start. And can we please remove the Sackler name from all over everything in the UK?!?
dani_saavd's review against another edition
5.0
Me es muy difícil hacerle una reseña a un libro tan complejo, que abarca un largo periodo de tiempo de casi 100 años y que narra una historia en la que suceden tantas cosas: los hechos alrededor del auge y caída de la familia Sackler, una de las familias más ricas de Estados Unidos.
Pero es más que la historia de una familia, es la historia de los tejemanejes de una industria farmacéutica muy agresiva, que hará cualquier cosa con tal de vender sus medicamentos, sin importarle si son dañinos para las personas que lo consumen. En palabras del autor es: "una historia de ambición, filantropía, crimen e impunidad, corrupción institucional, poder y codicia.
Todo comienza con una humilde familia de inmigrantes judíos con 3 hijos. Arthur, Mortimer y Raymond. Llenos de ambición, con ansias de emprender y hacer el apellido Sackler inmortal. Comienzan haciéndose médicos, pero pronto se pasan a los negocios de la publicidad, desarrollo y comercio de medicamentos. De más está decir, que la industria farmacéutica les hizo ganar millones a la familia.
Y mientras el autor nos cuenta como los Sackler empiezan a desarrollar su negocio, también nos va adentrando en la historia de medicamentos tan conocidos como el valium (diazepam) y como cambió la vida de los estadounidenses.
Ahora bien, eso no es nada, comparado a lo que suscitó el producto estrella de los Sackler, el que verdaderamente les hizo ganar miles de millones de dólares: El oxycontin. Salió al mercado en la década de los 90, era un opiáceo potente, con gran poder adictivo, pero que los Sackler comenzaron a vender como la pastilla milagrosa que curaba todos los dolores, de gran eficacia, y según ellos, para nada adictiva.
Y así dan inicio a la epidemia de la crisis de los opioides de Estados Unidos, que persiste hoy en día. Millones de personas se volvieron adictas a ese medicamento y cientos de miles murieron de sobredosis, además de que generó todo un mercado de narcotráfico alrededor.
Pasarían años antes de que alguien se atreviera a señalar a la empresa, muchos años más para que se hiciera responsables a los Sackler, y tantos años más para que ellos salieran a hablar del tema.
Lo que les he contado ni siquiera se podría decir que es un resumen del libro. Es muy abarcador y se tejen muchas personas y acontecimientos alrededor de él. Es destacable y admirable el autor, que ha hecho un trabajo de investigación increíble, pulcro, minucioso, y sin dudas, agotador (sobre todo porque se vio sometido a una fuerte presión por parte de los círculos de poder para que el libro no viera la luz)
Es una mirada a todo lo que existe detrás de una simple pastilla, desde los turbios negocios de las farmacéuticas, la iatrogenia de una parte de la comunidad médica y la corrupción de una gran cantidad de funcionarios civiles.
De los mejores libros del año.
Pero es más que la historia de una familia, es la historia de los tejemanejes de una industria farmacéutica muy agresiva, que hará cualquier cosa con tal de vender sus medicamentos, sin importarle si son dañinos para las personas que lo consumen. En palabras del autor es: "una historia de ambición, filantropía, crimen e impunidad, corrupción institucional, poder y codicia.
Todo comienza con una humilde familia de inmigrantes judíos con 3 hijos. Arthur, Mortimer y Raymond. Llenos de ambición, con ansias de emprender y hacer el apellido Sackler inmortal. Comienzan haciéndose médicos, pero pronto se pasan a los negocios de la publicidad, desarrollo y comercio de medicamentos. De más está decir, que la industria farmacéutica les hizo ganar millones a la familia.
Y mientras el autor nos cuenta como los Sackler empiezan a desarrollar su negocio, también nos va adentrando en la historia de medicamentos tan conocidos como el valium (diazepam) y como cambió la vida de los estadounidenses.
Ahora bien, eso no es nada, comparado a lo que suscitó el producto estrella de los Sackler, el que verdaderamente les hizo ganar miles de millones de dólares: El oxycontin. Salió al mercado en la década de los 90, era un opiáceo potente, con gran poder adictivo, pero que los Sackler comenzaron a vender como la pastilla milagrosa que curaba todos los dolores, de gran eficacia, y según ellos, para nada adictiva.
Y así dan inicio a la epidemia de la crisis de los opioides de Estados Unidos, que persiste hoy en día. Millones de personas se volvieron adictas a ese medicamento y cientos de miles murieron de sobredosis, además de que generó todo un mercado de narcotráfico alrededor.
Pasarían años antes de que alguien se atreviera a señalar a la empresa, muchos años más para que se hiciera responsables a los Sackler, y tantos años más para que ellos salieran a hablar del tema.
Lo que les he contado ni siquiera se podría decir que es un resumen del libro. Es muy abarcador y se tejen muchas personas y acontecimientos alrededor de él. Es destacable y admirable el autor, que ha hecho un trabajo de investigación increíble, pulcro, minucioso, y sin dudas, agotador (sobre todo porque se vio sometido a una fuerte presión por parte de los círculos de poder para que el libro no viera la luz)
Es una mirada a todo lo que existe detrás de una simple pastilla, desde los turbios negocios de las farmacéuticas, la iatrogenia de una parte de la comunidad médica y la corrupción de una gran cantidad de funcionarios civiles.
De los mejores libros del año.