Empire of pain : the secret history of the Sackler dynasty
(Book)

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Published
New York : Doubleday, [2021].
Edition
First edition.
Physical Desc
xii, 535 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
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LocationCall NumberStatusDue Date
HASLET - Nonfiction929.20 KEEOn Shelf
Keller Public Library - BiographiesBIOGRAPHY SACKLERChecked OutApril 18, 2024
Watauga Public Library - Nonfiction338.76161 KEEFEOn Shelf

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More Details

Published
New York : Doubleday, [2021].
Format
Book
Edition
First edition.
Language
English

Notes

General Note
Genealogical table on lining papers.
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages [446]-515) and index.
Description
"The highly anticipated portrait of three generations of the Sackler family, by the prize-winning, bestselling author of SAY NOTHING The Sackler name adorns 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 sciences. The source of the family fortune was vague, however, until it emerged that the Sackler's were responsible for making and marketing Oxycontin, a blockbuster painkiller that was a catalyst for the opioid crisis. Empire of Pain is a masterpiece of narrative reporting and writing, exhaustively documented and ferociously compelling"--,Provided by publisher.
Description
The Sackler name adorns 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 thirty-five billion dollars in revenue, and to launch a public health crisis in which hundreds of thousands would die.
Description
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 twentieth-century Brooklyn to the seaside palaces of Greenwich, Connecticut, and Cap d'Antibes to the corridors of power in Washington, D.C. 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. 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. 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. -- Provided by publisher.

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Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Keefe, P. R. (2021). Empire of pain: the secret history of the Sackler dynasty (First edition.). Doubleday.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Keefe, Patrick Radden, 1976-. 2021. Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty. Doubleday.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Keefe, Patrick Radden, 1976-. Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty Doubleday, 2021.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Keefe, Patrick Radden. Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty First edition., Doubleday, 2021.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

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