The Mysterious Case Of Rudolf Diesel

I saw an interview with the author and was drawn to this book. First of all I have LONG been interested in this period of history…the turn of the 20th Century Industrial Era, which was when Diesel came onto the scene. During the interview the author mentioned the Ludlow Massacre, Rockefeller, WWI, Paris, and the list goes on…all buzz words that drew me closer and closer to wanting this book.

Ahh, but it gets better, because not only is this about a true innovator and a time period of history that I’m a fan of, but this book is a mystery. Why? Because in 1913, while traveling from Belgium to London on a ship called the Dresden, Rudolph Diesel disappeared.

Here’s the mystery though…was it suicide or murder? Murder because at the time Diesel was a threat to two major players during this time, who just so happened to be two of the most powerful people in the world….John D. Rockefeller and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.

A threat to Rockefeller because at the time JDR had made his wealth from kerosene, but with electricity, his empire was under threat. However, with the combustible engine and, more importantly gasoline (a by product of kerosene once seen as worthless), Rockefeller was about to become even richer. However, the Diesel Engine, which was much better, posed a threat, because it can be run on coal tar, nut and vegetable oils, etc.

A threat to Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, because though Diesel was Germany, he was not a militaristic/nationalist follower of the regime. In fact, he had more connections to Britain than Germany by the end of his life, and was working closely with the British government. Why this is important is because during the arms race leading to WWI, Germany could not keep up with Britain when it came to ships, but with the Diesel engine, they focused instead on submarines…the U-Boat. Britain still relied on steam, was far behind Germany when it came to Diesel technology, but it became clear that Diesel himself was consulting with Britain, who wanted a submarine fleet of their own.

This a heck of a well written book that takes you through the life of Rudolph Diesel, while at the same time describing the domestic and global events that might have led to his death. First of all, you will not set this book down at the end and not be completely and utterly amazed by Diesel the man. He invented a global changing engine, but did so not for wealth, though it made him extremely wealthy, but for altruistic reasons. Any nation and, for that matter, any one could benefit from his engine because, as he saw it, it didn’t have to rely on fossil fuels. It was a more efficient, longer running, less cumbersome engine that could burn anything. For Diesel, he saw his engine being applied to cities and more importantly, farmers to make life easier and provide for the betterment of not nations, but of PEOPLE.

Of course we know how history played out. The first real application of his engine on a mass scale was for the military, though it would go on to run the world in rail, trucks, shipping, etc. And of course we know that the Diesel fuel we use today is a petroleum/fossil fuel gas.

Ahh, here is the best part of the book. Like I said, it’s a history of the man, the period, and global events, but it’s also a mystery. However, there is a MAJOR TWIST, and when you get to this part of the book you are not only left with your jaw dropped, you can’t help but say…”Holy Crap!!!”

This book is FANTASTIC and I highly recommend it. Even if you aren’t into HISTORY, this book is written like a mystery novel. You are introduced to the players, their lives, and what connects them all, and which leads you to a death and the resulting mystery around it. It also involves cool things about this period. Industrialism, social ills and solutions, the Titanic, WWI, the rise and ultimate fall of Empires, and yes, a very cool and interesting man long forgotten, but his name is probably the most well known in history…DIESEL.

a little slow at the beginning, but worth it in the end

Provided a fantastic insight into how Rudolph Diesel developed his engine, the impact, difficulties and final unfathomable success of his invention and how it has changed the world.

This is a thoroughly researched and well written book which, in addition to the biography of Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the Diesel engine, and his mysterious disappearance at sea on the eve of the the Great War, also investigates the other major characters in the story. These include John D. Rockefeller, Thomas Edison, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Winston Churchill, the Nobel Brothers, and several others. The author quotes extensively from the unpublished diaries of Rudolf Diesel and the later memoir by his son, all of which deserve to be in the public domain. It is a story of failures and successes, and the indefatigable industry of the main character who almost worked himself to death in the perfection of what became his most famous invention. The author considers the pros and cons of the four main theories to account for his disappearance: Accident, suicide, murder and an elaborate plot to spirit him off to Canada to continue working on refinements to his engine to give the British superiority in the war with Germany. The last of these would require that his friends and family were in on the plot; but I will not give anymore away.
A real page-turner, and deserving of every success.
PS: The author wonders if Rudolf Diesel ever saw his wife again. It seem pretty certain that he did.
She disappeared soon after him, and nothing more was heard of her, until a death notice appeared in the Austrian press in 1944. Where was she? It seems clear she joined him in Canada soon after his disappearance, and returned to Europe only after his death in Canada. Nothing else explains her long absence.

Really got into this book. Very detailed and informative. The author makes some compelling points at the end. I won’t spoil anything here.

Very engaging story writing. Easy to read while being informative even describing somewhat difficult concepts.