Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty

I learned so much from this book and annoyed everyone around me because I couldn't stop talking about it. Radden Keefe continues to impress with his exhaustively researched and compellingly readable style. I barely knew anything about the Sackler family themselves (by their own design, I now know) but by the end, you will conclude, as Representative Jim Cooper, Democrat of Tennessee, said to David & Kathe Sackler in Congressional testimony: “Watching you testify makes my blood boil. I'm not aware of any family in America that is more evil than yours.”

What a fucking fantastic book. I literally couldn't put it down - I've just been reading it non-stop for hours on end. It meticulously traces the origins of the Sackler family, and how from the start, it was always about aggressively selling and advertising medication, without a single consideration for the consequences. Actually that's wrong, they did consider the consequences, and they decided they didn't care.

On par with Killers of the Flower Moon this year for best non-fiction I've read.

This is actually my second time reading this book, it's just that I didn't finish it on my first try. Not that I had any complaints about the writing, it's just that it was a very difficult and sometimes unbearable account of greed and destruction and I couldn't handle it. But I did wanna get to know the whole narrative, so here I am continuing it. And it was as compelling as I was hoping it would be.

The author and journalist is great at creative a narrative and keeping the readers engaged. He starts off this story with the arrival of Isaac Sackler in the US at the turn of the 20th century, who wanted his sons to become doctors and was proud to have given them a “good name”. I guess it's ironic that it's this good name that is currently being removed from all the museums and institutions the family patronized because no one rightfully wants to be associated with them.

Capitalism might be lauded as the only option which will give people power over their own lives and help them earn money but this book shows what a confluence of capitalism, greed, indifference and a broken healthcare system can lead to. The Sacklers might have perfected the formula of relentlessly advertising their drugs in a way that made it impossible for people not to want to try them, while knowing that Oxy had addictive properties and lying about it, and making billions out of it - and they definitely have the largest culpability in this matter - but it would be amiss if we don't also blame the politicians who live in Big Pharma's pockets and would rather the corporations made money than people have affordable healthcare; we can't forget the regulators or other government officials who probably took bribes and looked the other way or even approved the drug without due diligence; the doctors who were enticed by the free gifts and other incentives and forgot their oath while over prescribing Oxy; even the medical journals who promoted it as a wonder drug; and the sales people who were technically only doing their jobs but helped push the drug into the hands of the vulnerable people. Everyone has their own culpability in the death and destruction and trauma that ensued but I'm sure not many will ever face any consequences for what they've done.

The Sackler family is definitely getting away with their billions while Purdue Pharma is the one that's bankrupt. Even the $6 billion settlement that was recently announced can't make up for the more than 500,000 deaths and the families across the country who have been wrecked. And the Sackler family I'm sure has much more money to live a rich life for generations. But in a country where the rich can away with pretty much anything with the veneer of a corporation covering them and when we have politicians who are most concerned about the rights of the billionaires to exploit more people, I guess we should be satisfied with just the fact that the Sackler name will be forever tainted due to being the main progenitors of the opioid crisis and that they have ruined the “good name” their patriarch thought he was giving them.

I read this on the strength of [b:Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland 40163119 Say Nothing A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland Patrick Radden Keefe https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537315266l/40163119.SY75.jpg 62303430] and it was equally engrossing. Throughout the book i kept visualizing the play called “The Lehman Brothers” which, like this book, sections up the story on East European immigrants to the USA , their talents and growth, the gradual slip from drive to succeed to greed, and then the rot from within of subsequent generations. This story is not yet finished.

It's truly horrifying and staggering. PRK did an excellent job in this book presenting the three-generation history of the Sackler's family and Purdue Pharma despite the family's decades long practice to secretly distance themselves from the company and actively suppressing all negative news.

It's investigative nonfiction at its best. I still manage find sense of humor of the author despite the sobering topic. “If K2 doesn't scare me, Florida does not scare me.” (She had not climbed K2.)

Eye-opening. Enlightening. Incredibly well researched. The Sacklers are insanely wealthy and play a large part in America's opioid crisis. This book is consistently engaging and revelatory, without a doubt my favorite non-fiction read this year so far.

Recently, the Sacklers were in a court, and the judge cut through their stream of bullshit to say, “Watching you testify makes my blood boil. I can't fathom there is another family in America more evil than yours.”

A must-read in my book.

This one took a long time to read. Learning how a few people's choices impact society for years is devastating.

Empire of Pain offers a detailed and revealing account of how Purdue Pharma's relentless pursuit of profits played a significant role in exacerbating the opioid crisis in America. Through deceptive marketing strategies, manipulation of medical professionals, and downplaying the addictive nature of opioids like oxycontin, Sacklers prioritized financial gains over the well-being of patients.

The significance of enforcing stricter regulations, promoting transparency, and prioritizing ethical practices to avoid future tragedies cannot be overstated.

I loved Keefe's book Say Nothing so when this came out I was intrigued but then not sure I would be interested. I was wrong. This was fascinating and enraging! It's one of those books where you find yourself running to the next room to tell someone something you just learned in the book - They wanted to sell Oxy to CHILDREN! They didn't do any studies to see if it's addictive and said they did! They knew that it was TWO TIMES as powerful as morphine!

I really appreciated the amount of research put into the book and how clear he was about his process and sources. I loved that he had an independent fact-checker for the book. (Did you know most nonfiction isn't fact-checked? https://www.npr.org/2019/06/08/730898366/checking-facts-in-nonfiction)

Finally, it seems harsh to call the entire Sackler family evil but I can't think of a different word for it.

A fantastic, thorough look at the Sacklers and opiod epidemic. I knew only the bare bones of this all before reading it and thought this would be a challenging and heavy audiobook - wrong! It was easy to follow and interestingly laid out so I never felt overwhelmed or numbed by names or dates etc, and each stat had an impact showing how many had been misled by false claims and advertising. It was hugely hard to hear how many lives had been affected and ruined by the drugs, and how unaffected the Sacklers have been throughout, and will likely remain that way while they attempt to distance and lie to themselves. 

Will absolutely be reading more from the author, and hope he continues to write more investigative pieces like this.

I remember first knowing about the Sackler family when Jon Oliver did a segment on them, and I remember feeling infuriated. Little did I know about the empire that they had created, riding on the wave of people's addictions, creating and fueling the opioid crisis and absolving themselves of all the blame while at the same time, putting up their names on all the Ivy league buildings.

It's sickening to learn how the rich always get a preferential treatment by law and society.

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This is also available on my website here.

Excellent account of the Sackler family's role in the Oxycontin epidemic that affected millions suffering with pain. Deaths, addictions, family breakdowns. It's unconscionable that again we see the role money plays. It can buy off people who are supposed to protect the public, from those in the justice system to those in the health care system.

The only problem I had with this book was the amount of repetition, moreso in the later chapters. A tragic story of a family that refused to take responsibility, a family that abused its position in society. With their intellect and business sense, they could've been a leader in health care, instead of a leader in corruption. They mislead the public to enrich their coffers.

Just wow...it's not often I give a Non-Fiction 5 stars but Empire of Pain deserves it. Absolutely shocking the lengths this family took to avoid taking any responsibility, not to mention everyone involved that helped them do so.

This is a definite eye-opener. I especially appreciate the Afterword where the author gives more insight into his dealings with the Sacklers, his research and resources. I feel like this is a must read. It's well written, and easy to follow. Doesn't feel like a 500+ of book either. Highly recommend.

I sincerely appreciate the publisher for the review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.