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A review by george_odera
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe
5.0
A page turner. Impeccable.
Empire Of Pain is an account of the three generations of the Sackler family, a family whose name has become synonymous with the opioid crisis. The family owned and controlled Purdue Pharma, the company that produced OxyContin, a prescription drug that was the providence of the opioid public health crisis.
Before being sullied by the crisis, the Sackler name adorned the walls and hallways of the most iconic educational and cultural institutions. Harvard, Yale, Le Louvre, the Guggenheim, and the Met are just a handful recipients of the Sacklers' largesse. But it emerged that the family wealth came at the cost of tens of thousands of lives. Employing a mix of deceptive advertising, regulatory arbitrage, and outright corruption, Purdue Pharma pushed for the sale of OxyContin, a highly addictive and potent drug that was prone to abuse.
Sifting through the reams of evidence unearthed by court proceedings, Mr Keefe shows how callous the Sacklers have been over the destruction wrought around them - blaming the problem on the immoral addicts rather than the drug, and regarding themselves as victims of a medua witchhunt. After almost a quarter of a century of selling Oxycontin, Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty to an assortment of federal charges in November 2020. However, no Sacklers, and no executives were obliged to acknowledge guilt personally, "as if the corporation had acted autonomously, like a driveless car," Mr Keefe observes.
Purdue Pharma is just another addition to the list of corporate malfeasance that goes unpunished. From A.H Robins' manufacture of the lethal Dalkon Shield contraceptive, to Ford's manufacture of the Pinto, to gun manufacturers in America. Mr. Keefe makes a profound observation that is recurrent in the American economy:
"It is a peculiar hallmark of the American economy that you can produce a dangerous product and effectively offload any legal liability for whatever destruction that product may cause by pointing to the individual responsibility of the consumer."
One of the best books I've read. Solid 5.
Empire Of Pain is an account of the three generations of the Sackler family, a family whose name has become synonymous with the opioid crisis. The family owned and controlled Purdue Pharma, the company that produced OxyContin, a prescription drug that was the providence of the opioid public health crisis.
Before being sullied by the crisis, the Sackler name adorned the walls and hallways of the most iconic educational and cultural institutions. Harvard, Yale, Le Louvre, the Guggenheim, and the Met are just a handful recipients of the Sacklers' largesse. But it emerged that the family wealth came at the cost of tens of thousands of lives. Employing a mix of deceptive advertising, regulatory arbitrage, and outright corruption, Purdue Pharma pushed for the sale of OxyContin, a highly addictive and potent drug that was prone to abuse.
Sifting through the reams of evidence unearthed by court proceedings, Mr Keefe shows how callous the Sacklers have been over the destruction wrought around them - blaming the problem on the immoral addicts rather than the drug, and regarding themselves as victims of a medua witchhunt. After almost a quarter of a century of selling Oxycontin, Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty to an assortment of federal charges in November 2020. However, no Sacklers, and no executives were obliged to acknowledge guilt personally, "as if the corporation had acted autonomously, like a driveless car," Mr Keefe observes.
Purdue Pharma is just another addition to the list of corporate malfeasance that goes unpunished. From A.H Robins' manufacture of the lethal Dalkon Shield contraceptive, to Ford's manufacture of the Pinto, to gun manufacturers in America. Mr. Keefe makes a profound observation that is recurrent in the American economy:
"It is a peculiar hallmark of the American economy that you can produce a dangerous product and effectively offload any legal liability for whatever destruction that product may cause by pointing to the individual responsibility of the consumer."
One of the best books I've read. Solid 5.