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 Sacklers 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.
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 Sacklers 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.
Add to your library to track progress and write reviews
Add to your library to track progress and write reviews
Find Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty Patrick Radden Keefe in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
Find Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty Patrick Radden Keefe in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
2 books in catalog
Investigative narrative nonfiction examining corporate corruption, political violence, systemic secrecy, and organized crime has been defined by deeply reported accounts that read with the pacing of thrillers, such as the acclaimed history Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland. Patrick Radden Keefe has established a major body of work as both an investigative journalist and an author, uncovering hidden power structures and human tragedies behind high-profile global scandals. As a long-time staff writer for The New Yorker, his comprehensive investigations explore complex networks ranging from international espionage and drug cartels to corporate dynasties and unsolved homicides.
Patrick Radden Keefe grew up in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, as the son of urban planner Frank Keefe and philosophy professor Jennifer Radden. He earned his undergraduate degree at Columbia University before continuing his education abroad and domestically, receiving master's degrees from Cambridge University and the London School of Economics, followed by a JD from Yale Law School. Keefe began contributing investigative reporting to The New Yorker in 2006 and subsequently became a staff writer. Over his career, his writing has also appeared in The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Magazine, and Slate. His investigative journalism has earned significant industry recognition, including the National Magazine Award for Feature Writing in 2014, as well as being named a finalist for the National Magazine Award for Reporting in 2015 and 2016. In addition to his journalism, he has received research fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the New America Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library.
Keefe's investigative approach focuses on institutional complicity, high-level corruption, secrets held by powerful figures, and the human consequences of covert actions. A signature aspect of his reporting technique is constructing detailed, vivid portraits of evasive or uncooperative subjects by piecing together extensive documentary records, court filings, and interviews with peripheral associates, as demonstrated in his profiles of drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, mass shooter Amy Bishop, and the Sackler family behind Purdue Pharma. His books combine rigorous archival research with propulsive narrative structure, transforming dense legal and corporate histories into accessible narrative accounts. Beyond written reportage, Keefe has expanded his storytelling into audio and television, serving as creator and host of the espionage podcast Wind of Change and as an executive producer on the FX television adaptation of Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland.
2 books in catalog
Investigative narrative nonfiction examining corporate corruption, political violence, systemic secrecy, and organized crime has been defined by deeply reported accounts that read with the pacing of thrillers, such as the acclaimed history Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland. Patrick Radden Keefe has established a major body of work as both an investigative journalist and an author, uncovering hidden power structures and human tragedies behind high-profile global scandals. As a long-time staff writer for The New Yorker, his comprehensive investigations explore complex networks ranging from international espionage and drug cartels to corporate dynasties and unsolved homicides.
Patrick Radden Keefe grew up in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, as the son of urban planner Frank Keefe and philosophy professor Jennifer Radden. He earned his undergraduate degree at Columbia University before continuing his education abroad and domestically, receiving master's degrees from Cambridge University and the London School of Economics, followed by a JD from Yale Law School. Keefe began contributing investigative reporting to The New Yorker in 2006 and subsequently became a staff writer. Over his career, his writing has also appeared in The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Magazine, and Slate. His investigative journalism has earned significant industry recognition, including the National Magazine Award for Feature Writing in 2014, as well as being named a finalist for the National Magazine Award for Reporting in 2015 and 2016. In addition to his journalism, he has received research fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the New America Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library.
Keefe's investigative approach focuses on institutional complicity, high-level corruption, secrets held by powerful figures, and the human consequences of covert actions. A signature aspect of his reporting technique is constructing detailed, vivid portraits of evasive or uncooperative subjects by piecing together extensive documentary records, court filings, and interviews with peripheral associates, as demonstrated in his profiles of drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, mass shooter Amy Bishop, and the Sackler family behind Purdue Pharma. His books combine rigorous archival research with propulsive narrative structure, transforming dense legal and corporate histories into accessible narrative accounts. Beyond written reportage, Keefe has expanded his storytelling into audio and television, serving as creator and host of the espionage podcast Wind of Change and as an executive producer on the FX television adaptation of Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland.
