Written by Linda Himelstein
Read by Arthur Morey
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps

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 19th-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's 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.