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The King of Vodka: The Story of Pyotr Smirnov and the Upheaval of an Empire
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HarperCollins 2009
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Description
"The story of the Smirnov family is an operatic tour-de-force, and Linda Himelstein tells it with grace and passion." —Tilar J. Mazzeo, author of The Widow Clicquot
From 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.
"Himelstein makes Russian history and even current politics come alive." —USA Today
"Himelstein brings thorough research and strong writing to bear on a fascinating subject." —BusinessWeek
"An impressive feat of research, told swiftly and enthusiastically." —San Francisco Chronicle
"An astonishing tale." —Miami Herald
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Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
05/05/2009
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780061876165
ASIN:
B0028MVGX8
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Linda Himelstein. (2009). The King of Vodka: The Story of Pyotr Smirnov and the Upheaval of an Empire. HarperCollins.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Linda Himelstein. 2009. The King of Vodka: The Story of Pyotr Smirnov and the Upheaval of an Empire. HarperCollins.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Linda Himelstein, The King of Vodka: The Story of Pyotr Smirnov and the Upheaval of an Empire. HarperCollins, 2009.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Linda Himelstein. The King of Vodka: The Story of Pyotr Smirnov and the Upheaval of an Empire. HarperCollins, 2009.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
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        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.

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"The story of the Smirnov family is an operatic tour-de-force, and Linda Himelstein tells it with grace and passion." —Tilar J. Mazzeo, author of The Widow Clicquot
From 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.
"Himelstein makes Russian history and even current politics come alive." —USA Today
"Himelstein brings thorough research and strong writing to bear on a fascinating subject." —BusinessWeek
"An impressive feat of research, told swiftly and enthusiastically." —San Francisco Chronicle
"An astonishing tale." —Miami Herald
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        One of "the year's best books." — BusinessWeek

        "The book is an impressive feat of research, told swiftly and enthusiastically." — San Francisco Chronicle

        "Himelstein brings thorough research and strong writing to bear on a fascinating subject." — BusinessWeek

        "Himelstein makes Russian history and even current politics come alive." — USA Today

        "Linda Himelstein has pulled off a remarkable storytelling feat." — Julia Flynn Siler, author of The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty

        "To follow the lives of members of the Smirnov family in this vivid account is to experience the flow of Russian history from the 1830s until the present. " — Professor Patricia Herlihy, Professor Emeritus, History, Brown University and author of The Alcoholic Empire

        "The story of the Smirnov family is an operatic tour-de-force, and Linda Himelstein tells it with grace and passion." — Tilar J. Mazzeo, author of The Widow Clicquot

        "An astonishing tale..." — Miami Herald

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        March 30, 2009
        Journalist Himelstein recaptures Russia's golden age through the eyes of the former serf-turned vodka entrepreneur, Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov (1831–1898). From his early days as a “small-time liquor peddler” to one of Russia's richest men, Smirnov was the nemesis of teetotaling Tolstoy—who blamed the country's late 19th-century woes on his countrymen's thirst for alcohol. As the first Russian brand architect and seller of high-quality, low-cost liquor, Smirnov makes for a fascinating subject in his trajectory and outsize ambition. He applied for the title of Purveyor to the Imperial Court, but “the tsar's refusal, rather than deflating Smirnov's outsized ambition, emboldened it. It aroused something deep inside the man, a creative spark that transformed Smirnov from a competent businessman into one of the most ingenious marketers of his time.” While the dozens of obstacles, including the closure of the Imperial Archives and a dearth of information about Smirnov's years of serfdom, might have deterred lesser researchers, Himelstein has triumphed with a timeless book that entertains, informs and inspires any would-be entrepreneur to chase his dreams.

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"The story of the Smirnov family is an operatic tour-de-force, and Linda Himelstein tells it with grace and passion." —Tilar J. Mazzeo, author of The Widow Clicquot
From 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...
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