The King of Vodka, Linda Himelstein
The King of Vodka, Linda Himelstein
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The King of Vodka
The Story of Pyotr Smirnov and the Upheaval of an Empire

Author: Linda Himelstein

Narrator: Arthur Morey

Unabridged: 12 hr 16 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/05/2011

Synopsis

“A operatic tour-de-force.” —Tilar J. Mazzeo, author of The Widow Clicquot“An impressive feat of research, told swiftly and enthusiastically.” —San Francisco ChronicleFrom Vanderbilt and Rockefeller to Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, America’s captains of industry are paragons of entrepreneurial success, and books about business history, from The First Tycoon to The Big Short, show exemplars of capitalistic cunning and tenacity…but just as American cocktail connoisseurs can mistake Absolut, Skyy, Grey Goose, or Ketel One for the quintessential clear spirit, so too has America’s vision of business history remained naïve to a truth long recognized in Eastern Europe: since the time of Tsar Nicholas, both vodka and commercial success have been synonymous in Russia with one name—Smirnoff. Linda Himelstein’s critically acclaimed biography of Russian vodka scion Pyotr Smirnov—a finalist for the James Beard Award, winner of the IACP and Saroyan Awards, and a BusinessWeek Best Business Book of 2009—is the sweeping story of entrepreneurship, empire, and epicurean triumph unlike anything the world has ever seen before.

About Linda Himelstein

Linda Himelstein began her career in the Washington bureau of The Wall Street Journal before working at The San Francisco Recorder and Legal Times. In 1993 she joined BusinessWeek as legal affairs editor, writing about a wide array of topics, including the tobacco industry and Wall Street. One of her cover stories helped BusinessWeek win the National Magazine Award. Later, as the magazine's Silicon Valley bureau chief, she wrote about the infancies of eBay, Yahoo!, and other companies. She lives with her family in Northern California.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Florence (Lefty)

I enjoy both biographies and vodka martinis. A martini should be dry, a biography should not. What I liked: It does include some really interesting background on Russian political history. It shines as a business bio, his strategies (excruciatingly) detailed and well researched, even inspirational.......more

Goodreads review by Grumpus

Wow, inspiring and sad story of Pyotr Smirnov, his legacy and Russian capitalism. All I could think about while listening is that "He built that." without government help. The timing of my reading of this at this time was uncanning given what is going on in US politics today. He built that...and that......more

Goodreads review by Simon

Linda Himelstein's biographical account of Russia's top vodka producer Pyotr Smirnov is in itself exhilarating. The premise of the book centers on the life of Smirnov and explores in the details his successful building of an empire. Smirnov in many ways reminds me of a typical follower of the Americ......more

Goodreads review by Tyler

Linda Himelstein’s The King of Vodka: The Story of Pyotr Smirnov is a superbly constructed biography and an entertaining read. It combines the compelling nature of a mystery thriller; the exquisitely researched conciseness of high-quality journalism, in which good work speaks for itself; the welcom......more

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