The King of Vodka: The Story of Pyotr Smirnov and the Upheaval of an Empire,   ISBN:9780060855895

Customer Rating: 

The title "The King of Vodka - The Story of Pyotr Smirnoff and the upheaval of an Empire" captures only a fraction of a truly panoramic picture skillfully painted by Himelstein. She starts with a story about a serf who, without any formal education, builds the most popular brand of an alcoholic beverage and becomes one of the most successful businessmen in the 19th century Russia. She shows how this self-taught entrepreneur overcomes all odds that would have prevented any modern MBA from entering the business, let alone becoming its leader, including

1. tremendous competition (300 existing brands of vodka),
2. under-funding (he started from the proverbial scratch),
3. negative image (continuous anti-alcoholism campaigns at all levels),
4. inferior social standing, and
5. government hostility (which heavily depended on the taxes from vodka sales and periodically monopolized the entire industry).

Based on years of meticulous research, Himelstein turns a tale about an extraordinary man into a sweeping story about a dynasty, including several generations of his entire family, and stretching across almost two hundred years, starting with the inequities and the far reaching reforms of the Russian monarchy, the horrors of the Bolshevik revolution and socialism, and the first couple of decades of freedom and democracy in modern Russia. Her book is also a history of a brand, spanning two continents, from its creation and perfection in czarist Russia, to its choking but surviving in spite of mismanagement and internal feuds, to its complete vanishing under the communist destruction, to its awesome rebuilding in the United States. If starting a business that had to compete with 300 existing brands was not hard enough, think of starting it anew across the ocean in a country with centuries-old change-resistant culture of whiskey- and beer-drinking, and then driving the newly introduced beverage business to a multi-billion dollar operation!

A delightful reading for anybody interested in business development, large-scale change management, Russian history, or extraordinary biography.

Yuval Lirov, Medical Billing Networks and Processes - Profitable and Compliant Revenue Cycle Management in the Internet Age

Customer Rating: 

It actually took me four months to read this book. I simply could not stick with it for very long. Every time I got another book to read after this one, I read that first. Finally, I finished it this month. Linda Himelstein did a wonderful research job, and did not appear to take any liberties--much to her credit, especially these days, when I think a new category for books should be created: Fiction/Non-Fiction. But, I'm afraid, the topic and the people in it just did not hold my interest. I would recommend the book to those interested in Russian history; those interested in how a man from a serf background built a vodka empire beyond belief; and those interested in Russia's long, crippling history with alcohol.

Customer Rating: 

I loved the book The King of Vodka! The author, Linda Himelstein, managed to bring the past to life by weaving historical facts , events, documents, and personalities together with imagined dialogs and scenes. The book reads like a fine novel and covers times and places that are not well known in the West. The book presents a very engaging and informative history lesson (Russia in the 19th and 20th centuries, under the Tsars, and later - the Bolshevik revolution), which is a nice added bonus. Ms. Himelstein is a very capable writer and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. I highly recommend this book!

Customer Rating: 

This book is so well researched, it reminds me of a scientific study. The story has all the trappings of a great novel with a great rise and the eventual downfall of the vodka empire. The book does suffer at times from embellishment, but that can be forgiven due to the need to keep the story moving forward. If you are patient with the book, you will be rewarded with a fascinating look at a unique figure and the time period.

Customer Rating: 

Loved reading this wonderful book about an fascinating family and industry. Learning a little Russian history along the way was a big bonus. A compelling story!