Synopsis
The award-winning investigation from the author behind bestselling sensation London Falling
Winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction
The Sunday Times Bestseller
A BBC Radio 4 'Book of the Week'
One of The Telegraph's 20 Best Nonfiction Books of All Time
'There are so many "they did what?" moments in this book, when your jaw practically hits the page' – The Sunday Times
‘You feel almost guilty for enjoying it so much’ – The Times
By the beginning of the twenty-first century the Sackler family had become one of the richest in America, their name adorning the walls of institutions like Harvard and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The source of the family fortune had long been vague, until it emerged that the Sacklers were responsible for making and ruthlessly marketing OxyContin – a blockbuster painkiller that was a catalyst for the opioid crisis which, to date, has killed over half a million people.
In this searing investigation, Patrick Radden Keefe tells the story of the Sackler family’s extraordinary rise and reveals a shocking story of greed and corruption at the heart of modern America.
Merging gripping storytelling with fearless investigative journalism, Patrick Radden Keefe is undeniably one of the great nonfiction writers of our time.
'I gobbled up Empire of Pain . . . a masterclass in compelling narrative nonfiction.' – Elizabeth Day, The Guardian
'[Keefe is] a gifted storyteller who excels at capturing personalities' – The Washington Post
'This book will make your blood boil' – John Carreyrou, author of Bad Blood
Details
Reviews
“Put simply, this book will make your blood boil . . . a devastating portrait of a family consumed by greed and unwilling to take the slightest responsibility or show the least sympathy for what it wrought . . . a highly readable and disturbing narrative.”John Carreyrou, author of Bad Blood, New York Times Book Review
“An air-tight indictment of the family behind the opioid crisis . . . [an] impressive exposé”Harriet Ryan, Los Angeles Times
“A damning portrait of the Sacklers, the billionaire clan behind the OxyContin epidemic . . . [Keefe] has a knack for crafting lucid, readable descriptions of the sort of arcane business arrangements the Sacklers favored.”Laura Miller, Slate
“Keefe has a way of making the inaccessible incredibly digestible, of morphing complex stories into page-turning thrillers, and he's done it again with Empire of Pain . . . equal parts juicy society gossip and historical record.”Seija Rankin, Entertainment Weekly
