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BLOOD FEUD

Name: BLOOD FEUD
Author: Kathleen Sharp
ISBN: 978-0-525-95240-4

THE MAN WHO BLEW THE WHISTLE ON ONE OF THE DEADLIEST PRESCRIPTION DRUGS EVER

by Kathleen Sharp ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 20, 2011

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How two giant pharmaceutical companies defrauded the public, flouted government regulations and ignored patient safety in their cutthroat competition.

In this hard-hitting exposé, investigative journalist Sharp (Mr. and Mrs. Hollywood: Edie and Lew Wasserman and Their Entertainment Empire, 2004, etc.) tells the shocking story of how Amgen and Johnson & Johnson partnered to commercially develop a seemingly miraculous anti-anemia drug that would reduce the need for blood transfusions. They conspired to push the drug through the FDA's licensing process without establishing FDA-mandated safety standards while battling ferociously between themselves for market share—secretly selling the product at steep discounts, fraudulently encouraging customers to bill Medicare at full price and using various under-the-table means to give kickbacks to doctors who prescribed the drug. Although the original license specified the drug's use for patients suffering kidney failure, J&J encouraged its use for cancer patients in therapy and started a marketing campaign to encourage doctors to raise the prescribed dosage. Mounting evidence of dangerous side-effects—blood-clotting, rampant spread of cancers and the sudden death of professional athletes who used the drug to enhance their stamina—were disregarded. Sharp artfully weaves in the riveting story of a high-flying salesman at J&J who feared he would be scapegoated for the criminal activities mandated by his bosses. Once rewarded with lavish holidays and other perks, he experienced the dark side of the American Dream when he was fired and blackballed, but he decided to fight back and become a whistle blower. The author unveils how the FDA's regulatory process has been systematically defanged beginning in the mid-1990s when direct TV advertising to the public was allowed. Since then, funding for the agency has decreased and corruption has flourished. A blockbuster of a story, especially today with Medicare potentially on the chopping block.

Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-525-95240-4

Page Count: 434

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: July 5, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2011

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
MR. AND MRS. HOLLYWOOD
by Kathleen Sharp

- BOOK REVIEW
IN GOOD FAITH
by Kathleen Sharp

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.