The King of Vodka: The Story of Pyotr Smirnov and the Upheaval of an Empire
- ISBN-10
- 0060855916
- ISBN-13
- 9780060855918
- Category
- Biography & Autobiography
- Pages
- 448
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2010-11-30
- Publisher
- Harper Collins
- Author
- Linda Himelstein
Description
Born in a Russian village in 1831, Pyotr Smirnov relied on vodka to turn a life of scarcity and anonymity into one of immense wealth and international recognition. Starting from the back rooms and side streets of nineteeth-century Moscow, Smirnov exploited brilliant grassroots marketing strategies to popularize his products and ensconce his brand in the thirsts and imaginations of drinkers around the world. His vodka would be gulped in the taverns of Russia and Europe, be praised with accolades at world fairs, and become a staple on the tables of tsars. But his improbable ascent would be halted by the chaos of the Bolshevik Revolution, and only a bizarre set of coincidences—including an incredible prison escape by one of Smirnov’s sons in 1919—would prevent Smirnov’s legacy from fading into obscurity. Set against a backdrop of political and ideological currents that would determine the course of global events, The King of Vodka is much more than a biography of a humble serf who rose to create one of the most celebrated business empires the world has ever known. It is a work of sweeping narrative history on an epic scale.
Get the book
Other editions
Similar books
-
The Lost Founding Father: John Quincy Adams and the Transformation of American Politics
By William J. CooperA middle-aged widower, Eaton had recently married Margaret O'Neale Timberlake, the daughter of a Washington tavern keeper. Her first marriage had been to a ...
-
Jesse James was His Name: Or, Fact and Fiction Concerning the Careers of the Notorious James Brothers of Missouri
By William A. Settle10 When the funeral party reached Kearney she cried out to Sheriff Timberlake , " Oh , Mr. Timberlake , my son has gone to God , but his friends still live ...
-
The Age of Jackson and the Art of American Power, 1815-1848
By William R. NesterLt. John Timberlake was smitten, talked her into marrying him, and then was forced to leave his bride for an extended naval voyage.
-
Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography
By Lawrence J. Quirk, William SchoellThe supporting cast, including Lionel Barrymore as Jackson, Tone as Eaton, Robert Taylor as Timberlake, and James Stewart as another persistent suitor, ...
-
Conversations with William Faulkner
By M. Thomas IngeStudent assistant Corrie E. Ward and faculty secretaries Nina Wells and Susan G. Timberlake provided invaluable assistance .
-
Memoirs and Selected Letters: Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant, Selected Letters 1839-1865
By Ulysses S. GrantKroper Priate WAZ e Hale curie Tarner Zur National Forces . ... N. MICHLER , nie22 Ernest 2 Maj . of Engineers , M.Guna Timberlake Wins Zone For HRJohnson ...
-
Inventing Loreta Velasquez: Confederate Soldier Impersonator, Media Celebrity, and Con Artist
By William C. DavisAccording to Robert E. L. Krick of Richmond in an e-mail message, the only likely candidates ... the prison adjutant, and a clerk known only as Timberlake.
-
William Shakespeare: A Textual Companion
By Stanley Wells, Gary Taylor, William MontgomeryEdward A. Bloom ( 1964 ) ; revised in Muir , Shakespeare the Professional ( 1973 ) ... A. W. Pollard ( 1923 ) , 57-112 Timberlake , Philip W. , The Feminine ...
-
The Age of Jackson and the Art of American Power, 1815-1848
By William NesterRichard Timberlake, 7746 Origins of Central Banking in the United States ... 1820, in Thomas Jefferson, 7726 Selected I/Vritings of 7740mas]e erson, ed.
-
Escape: A Memoir
By Carolyn Jessop, Laura PalmerWe'd picked the green tomatoes just before the frost and let them ripen in buckets. Every day we'd sort through them looking for some that were ripe enough ...