
Empire of Pain
The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
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Narrated by:
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Patrick Radden Keefe
About this listen
National Book Critics Circle Nominee
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
New York Times best seller
A grand, devastating portrait of three generations of the Sackler family, famed for their philanthropy, whose fortune was built by Valium and whose reputation was destroyed by OxyContin. From the prize-winning and best-selling author of Say Nothing
The history of the Sackler dynasty is rife with drama—baroque personal lives; bitter disputes over estates; fistfights in boardrooms; glittering art collections; Machiavellian courtroom maneuvers; and the calculated use of money to burnish reputations and crush the less powerful. The Sackler name has adorned the walls of many storied institutions—Harvard, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Oxford, the Louvre. They are one of the richest families in the world, known for their lavish donations to the arts and the sciences. The source of the family fortune was vague, however, until it emerged that the Sacklers were responsible for making and marketing a blockbuster painkiller that was the catalyst for the opioid crisis.
Empire of Pain begins with the story of three doctor brothers, Raymond, Mortimer, and the incalculably energetic Arthur, who weathered the poverty of the Great Depression and appalling anti-Semitism. Working at a barbaric mental institution, Arthur saw a better way and conducted groundbreaking research into drug treatments. He also had a genius for marketing, especially for pharmaceuticals, and bought a small ad firm.
Arthur devised the marketing for Valium, and built the first great Sackler fortune. He purchased a drug manufacturer, Purdue Frederick, which would be run by Raymond and Mortimer. The brothers began collecting art, and wives, and grand residences in exotic locales. Their children and grandchildren grew up in luxury.
Forty years later, Raymond’s son Richard ran the family-owned Purdue. The template Arthur Sackler created to sell Valium—co-opting doctors, influencing the FDA, downplaying the drug’s addictiveness—was employed to launch a far more potent product: OxyContin. The drug went on to generate some 35 billion dollars in revenue, and to launch a public health crisis in which hundreds of thousands would die.
This is the saga of three generations of a single family and the mark they would leave on the world, a tale that moves from the bustling streets of early 20th-century Brooklyn to the seaside palaces of Greenwich, Connecticut, and Cap d’Antibes to the corridors of power in Washington, DC. Empire of Pain chronicles the multiple investigations of the Sacklers and their company, and the scorched-earth legal tactics that the family has used to evade accountability.
Empire of Pain is a masterpiece of narrative reporting and writing, exhaustively documented and ferociously compelling. It is a portrait of the excesses of America’s second Gilded Age, a study of impunity among the super elite and a relentless investigation of the naked greed and indifference to human suffering that built one of the world’s great fortunes.
©2021 Patrick Radden Keefe (P)2021 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books of the Year • One of The Washington Post's 10 Best Books of the Year • TIME Magazine 100 Must Read Books of 2021 • One the Best Books of the Year: NPR, Slate, EW, Boston Globe, Goodreads, The Guardian, Town & Country, BuzzFeed, LitHub, Vulture, and more
Winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction and Finalist for the Baillie Gifford Winner of Winners Award
One of President Obama's Favorite Books of the Year
“An engrossing (and frequently enraging) tale of striving, secrecy and self-delusion….Keefe nimbly guides us through the thicket of family intrigues and betrayals… Even when detailing the most sordid episodes, Keefe’s narrative voice is calm and admirably restrained, allowing his prodigious reporting to speak for itself. His portrait of the family is all the more damning for its stark lucidity.”—Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times
“I read everything he writes. Every time he writes a book, I read it. Every time he writes an article, I read it … he’s a national treasure.”—Rachel Maddow, host of MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” and author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Blowout
“A true tragedy in multiple acts. It is the story of a family that lost its moorings and its morals… Written with novelistic family-dynasty and family-dynamic sweep, EMPIRE OF PAIN is a pharmaceutical FORSYTHE SAGA, a book that in its way is addictive, with a page-turning forward momentum.”—David M. Shribman, The Boston Globe
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Big Tobacco meets Silicon Valley in this gripping exposé of what happened when two of the most notorious industries collided—and the vaping epidemic was born.
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Not Just Interesting, but Thrilling
- By Thomas J. Hind on 08-02-21
By: Lauren Etter
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Pain Killer
- An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America's Opioid Epidemic
- By: Barry Meier
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Between 1999 and 2017, an estimated 250,000 Americans died from overdoses involving prescription painkillers, a plague ignited by Purdue Pharma’s aggressive marketing of OxyContin. Families, working class and wealthy, have been torn apart, businesses destroyed, and public officials pushed to the brink. Meanwhile, the drugmaker’s owners, Raymond and Mortimer Sackler, whose names adorn museums worldwide, made enormous fortunes from the commercial success of OxyContin.
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Infuriating and Compelling
- By TiffanyD on 12-24-18
By: Barry Meier
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Dreamland
- The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic
- By: Sam Quinones
- Narrated by: Tom Jordan
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1929, in the blue-collar city of Portsmouth, Ohio, a company built a swimming pool the size of a football field; named Dreamland, it became the vital centre of the community. Now, addiction has devastated Portsmouth, as it has hundreds of small rural towns and suburbs across America—addiction like no other the country has ever faced. How that happened is the riveting story of Dreamland.
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Excellent
- By Joe on 08-01-22
By: Sam Quinones
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Dopesick
- By: Beth Macy
- Narrated by: Beth Macy
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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In this extraordinary work, Beth Macy takes us into the epicenter of a national drama that has unfolded over two decades. From the labs and marketing departments of big pharma to local doctor's offices; wealthy suburbs to distressed small communities in Central Appalachia; from distant cities to once-idyllic farm towns; the spread of opioid addiction follows a tortuous trajectory that illustrates how this crisis has persisted for so long and become so firmly entrenched.
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Useful, but recommend Dreamland instead
- By Sarah on 08-27-18
By: Beth Macy
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The Snakehead
- An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream
- By: Patrick Radden Keefe
- Narrated by: Patrick Radden Keefe
- Length: 4 hrs and 54 mins
- Abridged
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The Snakehead is a panoramic tale of international intrigue and a dramatic portrait of the underground economy in which America's 12 million illegal immigrants live. Based on hundreds of interviews, Patrick Radden Keefe's sweeping narrative tells the story not only of Sister Ping, but of the gangland gunslingers who worked for her, the immigration and law enforcement officials who pursued her, and the generation of penniless immigrants who risked death and braved a 17,000 mile odyssey so that they could realize their own version of the American dream.
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A Busman's Holiday
- By Amazon Customer on 02-24-20
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Bad Blood
- Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
- By: John Carreyrou
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the next Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup “unicorn” promised to revolutionize the medical industry with its breakthrough device, which performed the whole range of laboratory tests from a single drop of blood. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fundraising round that valued the company at more than $9 billion, putting Holmes’s worth at an estimated $4.5 billion.
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Extreme retaliation against former employees
- By LEE on 05-29-18
By: John Carreyrou
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Empire of Lust
- Empire of Lust, Book 1
- By: J. L. Beck
- Narrated by: Sierra Kline, Benjamin D. Walker
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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I made a mistake. At sixteen years old I fell for the wrong man. Callum Torrio. Ruthless billionaire. Dangerous villain. My best friend's father. At twenty one, I gave up hope that he would ever notice me. He’s twenty years older than me and an arms dealer for the mob. The smart choice would be to forget he ever existed. But that’s not possible. His icy blue gaze, sculpted physique, and huge rough hands play a vivid part in my dreams.
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Overall 5⭐️
- By Anonymous User on 04-20-23
By: J. L. Beck
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Stakeknife's Dirty War
- How Scappaticci, British Intelligence and Special Branch Ran the IRA
- By: Richard O'Rawe
- Narrated by: Alan Turkington
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Freddie Scappaticci was born in 1946 and raised in a deeply nationalist area of Belfast. When the Troubles broke out in 1969, he joined the Provisional IRA, where he quickly rose through the ranks, becoming commander of Belfast in 1984. From the outside, Scappaticci appeared to be a dedicated volunteer, but inwardly, he had become disenchanted with the IRA and, in 1977, he started working for British intelligence.
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Only losers in this ‘war’ were the Irish people
- By puplhunt on 03-11-24
By: Richard O'Rawe
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The Troubles
- A Complete History of the Irish Troubles from the Plantation of Ulster and the Great Famine, to the Ira, the Formation of Northern Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement
- By: Dermot P. O'Hara
- Narrated by: Steven Rostance
- Length: 2 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Pocket History: The Troubles chronicles the 30 year long Irish Troubles. It begins right at the start with the first English invasion of Ireland and continues right up until present day, answering the question of what does the legacy of the troubles mean for modern day Irish and British people.
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Too slanted to be taken seriously
- By Ky on 01-25-22
By: Dermot P. O'Hara
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The Yank
- The True Story of a Former US Marine in the Irish Republican Army
- By: John Crawley
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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1975: A young Irish-American man joins an elite US Marine unit to get the most intensive military training possible—then joins the Irish Republican Army, during the days of some of the bloodiest fighting ever in the Irish-British conflict. It is a story that will see him running guns with American mobster—and secret IRA fundraiser—Whitey Bulger; running from safe house to safe house in the Irish countryside, one step ahead of British troops; fending off a recruitment offer from the CIA; and being one of the masterminds behind a campaign to take out London's electrical system.
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Reads like IRA fan fiction written by an unreliable narrator.
- By Blake Harllee on 04-01-24
By: John Crawley
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The Triumph of Injustice
- How the Rich Dodge Taxes and How to Make Them Pay
- By: Emmanuel Saez, Gabriel Zucman
- Narrated by: Steve Menasche
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Blending history and cutting-edge economic analysis, and writing in lively and jargon-free prose, Saez and Zucman dissect the deliberate choices (and sins of indecision) that have brought us to today: the gradual exemption of capital owners; the surge of a new tax avoidance industry; and the spiral of tax competition among nations. With clarity and concision, they explain how America turned away from the most progressive tax system in history to embrace policies that only serve to compound the wealth of a few.
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Smart book and tangible solutions
- By Graeme Newell on 01-02-20
By: Emmanuel Saez, and others
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Little Princes
- One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal
- By: Conor Grennan
- Narrated by: Conor Grennan
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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In search of adventure, 29-year-old Conor Grennan traded his day job for a year-long trip around the globe, a journey that began with a three-month stint volunteering at the Little Princes Children's Home, an orphanage in war-torn Nepal. Conor was initially reluctant to volunteer, unsure whether he had the proper skill, or enough passion, to get involved in a developing country in the middle of a civil war. But he was soon overcome by the herd of rambunctious, resilient children.
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Amazing experience + Inspiring tale
- By Angela on 02-06-11
By: Conor Grennan
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The Smartest Guys in the Room
- The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron
- By: Bethany McLean
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 22 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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The definitive volume on Enron's amazing rise and scandalous fall, from an award-winning team of Fortune investigative reporters.
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An excellent book, but with a missing chapter
- By Augustus T. White on 03-07-12
By: Bethany McLean
What listeners say about Empire of Pain
Highly rated for:
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- Elizabeth Lund
- 04-18-21
MUST READ... you need to know who the Sackler family is
Mr Keefe gives a very informative story with a clear insight to a family that most of us had never heard of. The Sackler family hid behind their pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma, making billions of dollars, knowing that people were becoming addicted to their OxyContin that they sold. The Sacklers’ did not have a care in the world that people were dying everyday because of their drug that caused the opioid crisis. The Sacklers’ just continued on living the high life at the expense of other families. Mr Keefe opens your eyes to the corruption that goes on with the pharmaceutical industry and how people with money are offered a different justice then the rest of us. A true tragedy that could have and should have been stopped years before.
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64 people found this helpful
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- Candy
- 04-21-21
Definitely a Must Read!
One of the best non fiction books I've read. The story of the 3 arrogant generations associated with the opioid crisis is eye opening.
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37 people found this helpful
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- aaron
- 05-08-21
About as fair a shake as they're gonna get
This book is incredibly well researched. Keefe is also an above average storyteller. If you have any interest in how the Oxycontin epidemic began, you need to read this.
It's sorta remarkable, the access he had to various sources. I'm still trying to wrap my head around how he compiled everything into just on book.
Regardless, this is probably one of the most important stories of the last fifty years that hardly any Americans know about. That fact alone justifies its value. Keefe does a good job narrating as well.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Rachel
- 05-05-21
RIVETING!!!!!
This is one of the best books I've read/listened to in a long time. From the very beginning, I was hooked and basically binge-listened to it. I highly recommend it for the story and I feel that the author did an amazing job at the narration too. It's a must read that I'm telling everyone I know about.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Jim Higgins
- 05-01-21
Empire of Pain
Great book and so well documented. Enjoyed every minute Highly recommend this read as it is full of sound information 😍
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2 people found this helpful
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- Linda
- 04-25-21
Outstanding well researched and thorough. A 10 on a scale of 5
This is an outstanding book about the Sackler family and their rise and fall. Keefe is a masterful writer, telling a factual story while also placing it in a powerful narrative. He
Is research is astonishing, and his final gift to the nation will be that this timeline will make it easier to evaluate all of the information which will come out about this astonishingly venal family.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Libby Hartman
- 04-03-23
Must read.
Cutting no corners and pulling no punches Keefe weaves an honest tale of greed and money.
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1 person found this helpful
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- STEVEN C. ANDERSON
- 10-13-22
Unfortunately an integral part of advertising & pharmaceuticals
Don’t let my 3 star performance sway you from this unbelievable 4 generation history of family dynasty. There’s soap opera worthy details of selfish family values & ambitious greed. Every American should read this purely to have a better understanding of what they’re putting in there bodies & why OUTSIDE sources matter (NOT the FDA, ADVERTISING (doctors), even TEXT BOOKS! Always look & see who is producing, donating, supporting, & where did employees previously work!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Megan
- 12-20-21
Extremely well researched and presented
This was an infuriating read of obscenely rich people doing terrible things and buying their way out with high priced lawyers, but despite that it was fascinating. The author was thorough and thoughtful, and I enjoyed it as much as I could for how angry I was.
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1 person found this helpful
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- EyeBurn
- 09-04-21
You don't know what you don't know
I of course knew about opioids and opioid addiction and the crisis in this country, particularly the Appalachian regions, but I never had any idea of the makers, the history, or the aggressive sales tactics. I am glad I picked this up. Great narration!
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