Empire of Pain Review

Keefe's expose of the Sackler family and the Opioid epidemic has become, in my mind, a pillar of modern investigative journalism. The depth of research into the secretive Sackler family going back to the turn of the century and the original mastermind of pharma-marketing -- Arthur Sackler -- captures how widespread, systematic, and far-reaching the impact of the family has been on American live.

"The opioid crisis is among other things a parable about the awesome capability of private industry to subvert public institutions"

While I learned more about the Sackler family and their trailblazing role in the opioid epidemic to a deeper degree than I ever expected, the quote outlined above captures the essence of why this book stands alone for me. The Sackler's story outlined by Keefe is a clear and obvious example of the failure of our public institutions to protect their citizens and hold those responsible for blatant malpractice. It shows the power of money in our modern judicial and regulatory systems and shows that there is a price tag for any individual's or company's moral stance. Finally, the book reasserts (using one of the most extreme cases in modern history) the theme that enterprises and the individuals who run those enterprises have perverse incentives to make money over what is right for the public and their customers, ignoring and actively hiding the problems that arose from their money-grab.

Additionally, while reading, it is impossible to not draw parallels between this story and the inferred corruption to protect the companies that have contributed to the climate crisis and social injustices.

In the end, while the Sacklers actions have been lain-bare over the past dozen years, the conclusion of their story holds to the disturbing theme of the rest of the book -- no accountability for their actions. Money wins.

5/5