Linda Himelstein

Linda Himelstein is the author of The King of Vodka: The Story of Pyotr Smirnov and the Upheaval of an Empire (HarperBusiness). A distinguished business writer, Himelstein tells the story of one of the most fascinating salesmen and entrepreneurs the world has ever known. Set against the Russia of Tolstoy and tsars, The King of Vodka is a stirring chronicle of ambition and innovation that has fascinating parallels to the post-communist Russia of today.

A graduate of Scripps College and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, Himelstein is a veteran reporter. She began her career in the Washington bureau of the Wall Street Journal, and from there went on to work for the San Francisco Recorder and Legal Times, members of American Lawyer Media group. She covered congress, federal agencies, city hall, and the courts, and appeared on television outlets such as CNN and C-SPAN as an expert commentator on news of the day.

In 1993, Himelstein joined BusinessWeek in New York as its legal affairs editor. She wrote about a wide array of topics, including the tobacco industry and Wall Street. One of her cover stories, titled the Bankers Trust Tapes, earned national headlines and helped BusinessWeek win the National Magazine Award. As legal affairs editor, Himelstein also covered the lawsuit filed by Smirnov's descendants. They sought to return the trademarks and copyrights of the vodka empire, lost in the tumult following the Russian revolution, to the family and to Russia. It was a fascinating story that earned BusinessWeek's publisher's award.

In 1996, Himelstein relocated to the Bay Area, writing about finance and retail for BusinessWeek. Two years later, she became the Silicon Valley Bureau Chief just as the technology boom took off. She wrote about the infancies of eBay and Yahoo! as well as many other early technology standouts. Despite the excitement of Silicon Valley, Himelstein could not forget the Smirnovs and their compelling story. She wondered what had happened to them and how many other Russians faced similar plights. At the end of 2004, she left the magazine and focused her energy for more than four years on the research, reporting, and writing necessary to tell the fascinating -- and wrenching -- tale in The King of Vodka.

Himelstein lives in the San Francisco area with her family.

The King of Vodka: The Dramatic Story of the Making of the Smirnoff Vodka Empire

Researching in Russia: The Business and Political Elements of 19th and early 20th Century Russia and Parallels to Today