Empire of Pain: A Short Book Review

With a rating of 4.6 on goodreads, Patrick Radden Keefe’s Empire of Pain is the best and highest-rated book I have read this year! Written in language that makes it extremely accessible, the book chronicles the story of the family behind OxyContin and the opioid crisis in America. Keefe covers four generations of the Sacklers and documents the greed and denial they embody, keeping their company and the drug at the center of the story – a no small feat by any measure. The author punches above his weight and manages to shatter a name that adorns some of the biggest museums and schools in the world. Keefe is meticulous in his research, and the book itself is well-paced, effortlessly moving through a period of about 107 years.

The Story of More: A Short Book Review

I live in a constant state of fear: that I should never have less. Everything that I do, including my ambition and my drive is reflective of this fear. There have been times when I’ve stopped to ask myself: how much is enough? At what point am I going to say that I don’t need more? The latest iPhone, the newest PlayStation, the fancy watch… I’m a hedonist, anchored by an extremely pessimistic and misanthropic view of mankind. My outlook towards life is a capitalist’s wet dream. The bitter truth is that I don’t need more. That I have enough and I belong to the top 10% of the country that owns 77% of its wealth.