First published 2025
This explosive investigation begins with a chance airport encounter in 2004. Investigative journalist Gardiner Harris strikes up a conversation with a Johnson & Johnson sales representative whose disturbing account of corporate misconduct transforms his understanding of the pharmaceutical giant. Harris methodically documents decades of deceptive practices that have endangered millions of lives. He reveals how the company concealed baby powder's cancer risks, downplayed Tylenol's dangers, and criminally marketed dangerous antipsychotics to children. The investigation exposes a cancer drug that actually promotes tumor growth and deceptive marketing campaigns that fueled opioid addiction on par with Purdue Pharma's notorious tactics. Harris demonstrates how Johnson & Johnson's products have contributed to drug crises responsible for potentially two million deaths. The book strips away the company's wholesome "baby company" image to reveal systematic corruption within America's largest healthcare conglomerate.
Genres: medical, business, crime, non-fiction, investigative-journalism, activism
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism, systematic-corruption
464 pages · Hardcover · Random House
Content warnings: addiction, drug-use, medical-trauma