Rachel L's Reviews > Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty

I really mean it when I say the truth is stranger than fiction. I'm not kidding, if the the story in this book came out as a fictional novel I can already see all the reviews saying how ridiculous and made up it all sounded. Except it's real, this bonkers story is real.

Empire of Pain chronicles three generations of the Sackler family who own Purdue pharma and the creators of the highly addictive opioid OxyContin. The story begins in the early 1900's when Isaac Sackler immigrated to America, and then follows his son and his grandson who inherited the Purdue Empire.

The first half of this book, while I knew less about it, wasn't as interesting to me. It's an important part of the story but I was more interested in closer to modern day events. The second half of the book details the creation and marketing of OxyContin and the toll and destruction it had on America. What Purdue and the Sackler's did was truly evil and their response and lack of accountability is insane.

This was a great comprehensive history of the rise and fall of the Sackler Dynasty. It wasn't as riveting as I expected hence 4 stars and not 5, but I'm still glad I read it.