The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I
- Downloads：9832
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-11-02 13:21:41
- Update Date：2025-09-14
- Status：finish
- Author：Douglas Brunt
- ISBN：B0BW21R7QR
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Kerry
，
This review contains spoilers。 The book was extremely well written and researched- it deserves five stars for that！ The reason I didn’t give it five stars is because it wasn’t much of a page turner for me。 It was informative and I learned a lot about the historical figures and power players of the early 1900’s but most of the book felt like reading a text book （which isn’t necessarily a bad thing） rather than reading a mystery （which is what I was expecting based on the title）。 It wasn’t until t This review contains spoilers。 The book was extremely well written and researched- it deserves five stars for that！ The reason I didn’t give it five stars is because it wasn’t much of a page turner for me。 It was informative and I learned a lot about the historical figures and power players of the early 1900’s but most of the book felt like reading a text book （which isn’t necessarily a bad thing） rather than reading a mystery （which is what I was expecting based on the title）。 It wasn’t until the last few chapters that the mystery started。 And I’m not sure I agree with the author’s solution to the mystery that he didn’t die at all but rather staged his death。 I just don’t think he would have left his wife， whom he deeply loved and family。 So for me， even after reading the entire book from cover to cover…。。 it remains a mystery。 。。。more
Sarah
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I would have enjoyed this book more if I had an interest in military history。 Mr。 Diesel seemed to be a fascinating person but， for me， the book had too much detail about his business and Kaiser Wilhelm II。 His actual disappearance and the questions surrounding it doesn’t come into the narrative until chapter 25。 The sections about education， philosophy， and his family life were very interesting。
Peter Lech
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Very good biography of Rudolph DieselPersonally， I would have liked a lot more more technical details of Diesel's achievements， but enjoyed the story as written。Very interesting conclusion。 Very good biography of Rudolph DieselPersonally， I would have liked a lot more more technical details of Diesel's achievements， but enjoyed the story as written。Very interesting conclusion。 。。。more
Lou
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I enjoy the period of history that led up to his "disappearance"。 I enjoy the period of history that led up to his "disappearance"。 。。。more
David
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Wow。 A real page turner。 I’m going to predict this book gets nominated for a prize this year。Rudolf Diesel may not be household name， but his legacy can be found on cars， ships， boats， trains， and other means of transportation。 Diesel was born in Paris to a well to do family who were bent on him going into the working trade just like his father did。 Rudolf stood strong and went to school in germany and had a vision: to perfect the engine his whole life for the betterment of mankind。 He was born Wow。 A real page turner。 I’m going to predict this book gets nominated for a prize this year。Rudolf Diesel may not be household name， but his legacy can be found on cars， ships， boats， trains， and other means of transportation。 Diesel was born in Paris to a well to do family who were bent on him going into the working trade just like his father did。 Rudolf stood strong and went to school in germany and had a vision: to perfect the engine his whole life for the betterment of mankind。 He was born at the dawn of the gilded age， one year before the birth of Kaiser Wilhelm the second。 Very learned and a true gentleman， he traveled the world sharing his craftsmanship。 This was all during the European age of increasing Nationalism （especially Germany）。 Diesel grew disenfranchised with the rise of wilhelm and did not want his work to be used for a war machine。 He was met with haters， one of them being Rockefeller who held a stranglehold on crude oil。 Upon learning that diesels engine did not need crude oil to function， rockerfeller was incensed。 This was a real hang on to your seat thriller。 I expected the worst， but the author explained that the ruse of Diesel meeting his demise may have been fabricated to save his life for the benefit of the greater good to finish his work。 Diesel knew that war was brewing and he didn’t want any part of it。 He wished to be able to perfect his engine without being taken advantage of for nefarious purposes。He became very good friends with Americans， including Edison and， the British。 I will not tell you the rest， as it is so well written that I will let you experience this great book for yourself。 。。。more
Alexandria Green
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I really hope Brunt’s theory of what happened to Diesel is true。 It definitely seems plausible。 Seeing what leads to the events of WW1 through the life of someone coming of age in the decades before is fascinating。 We truly don’t understand how different the current age is compared to 100-150 years ago。
Spence
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This is my first Book by Mr Brunt。 It did not disappoint。 This was right up there with likes of Erik Larsen， Candice Millard and Daniel James Brown。 Keep the non-fiction coming Doug！！！
William
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3。5
Mike
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This is a very good book。 It is a biography， a history of the transition of industry and transportation from steam to petroleum， and the vanishing of an acclaimed scientist。 The book is very well written， and the story is compelling。 It explains the development of the Diesel engine and the scramble for the technology when the military implications were realized。 If you are interested in technology， the lead up to WWI， or a real good whodunit， this book makes a great read。
Kathy Burke
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I found this book very interesting， educational and wow， what an ending！
Christian Freed
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Fairly interesting story。 If it would have been just about creating the diesel engine this would have been a snoozer， but the author incorporated plenty of history， from Rockefeller to the Kaiser and turned this into a pretty good recounting of Diesel's life and mysterious disappearance right before WWI kicked off。 Fairly interesting story。 If it would have been just about creating the diesel engine this would have been a snoozer， but the author incorporated plenty of history， from Rockefeller to the Kaiser and turned this into a pretty good recounting of Diesel's life and mysterious disappearance right before WWI kicked off。 。。。more
Mike Lund
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An Interesting， Easy to Read and Under Appreciated Story An interesting， easy to read and under appreciated story。 Just 14 years after winning the Paris World Fair‘s highest award the Diesel motor was so accepted， that Germany had build 344 diesel powered submarines and during WW1 sunk an approximately 5000 ships。 Britain had 144 and the United States 70 diesel submarines。 Mostly a biography of Rudolph Diesel。 His mysterious disappearance only takes up 52 pages， but the purposed solution is very An Interesting， Easy to Read and Under Appreciated Story An interesting， easy to read and under appreciated story。 Just 14 years after winning the Paris World Fair‘s highest award the Diesel motor was so accepted， that Germany had build 344 diesel powered submarines and during WW1 sunk an approximately 5000 ships。 Britain had 144 and the United States 70 diesel submarines。 Mostly a biography of Rudolph Diesel。 His mysterious disappearance only takes up 52 pages， but the purposed solution is very interesting and it also includes the complex challenges and relationships between the 5 great European Powers prior to WW1 and short biographies of key players。 By 1900 Diesel had set up manufacturing partnerships all over the world。 The diesel engine won the 1900 World‘s Fair’s highest award operating on peanut oil。 After 1900， the engine gained wide acceptance， especially in naval ship building and the development of the submarine。 The ability to run effectively on alternate fuels like coal tar and peanut oils made it an attractive option for countries like England， which （up to that time） had no natural petroleum supplies of its own。 。。。more
Autumn Nicole
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RTC
Cassandra Corrigan
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I'm not going to low-rate this book because it is very thorough and well-researched and I do think the author should be commended for that！ That said， if you are going into this book thinking that it's going to primarily be about Diesel's disappearance， then I think you should be aware that the discussion of his disappearance only really begins in Part 4。 Parts 1-3 are an in-depth look at the backdrop of WW1 and how that influenced Diesel's career and life。 I'm not going to low-rate this book because it is very thorough and well-researched and I do think the author should be commended for that！ That said， if you are going into this book thinking that it's going to primarily be about Diesel's disappearance， then I think you should be aware that the discussion of his disappearance only really begins in Part 4。 Parts 1-3 are an in-depth look at the backdrop of WW1 and how that influenced Diesel's career and life。 。。。more
Carol J。 Robbins
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This was not exactly the sort of book I usually read but my interest was stirred after a Megyn Kelly podcast。 Her husband is the author。 I found it to be extremely well researched and informative about a subject I knew absolutely nothing。 The Diesel engine is not that compelling of a topic but the mystery of the inventor is fascinating。 I couldn’t wait to read the author’s conclusion as to what happened to Rudolf Diesel。
Ben Jorgensen
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A fun read exploring the man behind the Diesel engine and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his disappearance。
Candy
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Upon hearing the premise of this book， I was intrigued from the start。 It is the hidden history， and mystery， behind the story of one of the world’s greatest inventors， Rudolf Diesel。 This brilliant inventor introduced the revolutionary Diesel engine to the world， which wasn’t always well-received。 On September 29， 1913， Diesel boarded the steamship Dresden， bound for London。 The next day， Diesel’s hat and neatly folded coat were found on deck， but Diesel was not to be found。 Two weeks later， hi Upon hearing the premise of this book， I was intrigued from the start。 It is the hidden history， and mystery， behind the story of one of the world’s greatest inventors， Rudolf Diesel。 This brilliant inventor introduced the revolutionary Diesel engine to the world， which wasn’t always well-received。 On September 29， 1913， Diesel boarded the steamship Dresden， bound for London。 The next day， Diesel’s hat and neatly folded coat were found on deck， but Diesel was not to be found。 Two weeks later， his body was retrieved from the water by some Dutch sailors， who removed the personal effects and returned the body to the water。 The personal effects were confirmed to be Diesel’s。 Was this an unfortunate accident， suicide or murder？ Diesel had some powerful enemies， such as Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II and John D。 Rockefeller。 The book is meticulously researched and Brunt does an excellent job of breaking down history and the political climate at the time。 He does spend a fair amount of time on the technical aspect of engines and technology， yet it is well-explained and integral to the story。 While reading， I kept wondering how the world would have fared if Diesel lived and his engine became the norm。 So， what happened to Rudolf Diesel？ While reading this page-turning thriller， I had my suspicions and boy howdy was I ever wrong！ Read this for yourself， and don’t peek at any reviews that tell you the author’s conclusion。https://candysplanet。wordpress。com/ 。。。more
Seth
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3。5 rounded up。 I initially picked up this book because of the mysterious circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Diesel。 Having just finished one true crime novel， I expected another。 However， what I got was equal parts biography， turn-of-the-20th century European history， physical science， mechanical engineering all stirred together with a smattering of mystery。 Brunt is a compelling narrator and an astute researcher。 My chief complaint was with the sheer volume he chose to include。 It 3。5 rounded up。 I initially picked up this book because of the mysterious circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Diesel。 Having just finished one true crime novel， I expected another。 However， what I got was equal parts biography， turn-of-the-20th century European history， physical science， mechanical engineering all stirred together with a smattering of mystery。 Brunt is a compelling narrator and an astute researcher。 My chief complaint was with the sheer volume he chose to include。 It was fun to feel like a jack of all trades skipping blithely back and forth from the internal workings of the combustion engine to the geopolitical machinations of the German Kaiser， but it became tiresome 1/3 of the way through—especially considering Diesel’s disappearance is what drove the story。 It took too long to pay off。 And yet… the payoff was worth the read。 Brunt claims he has corroborated his theory with special agents in the military and police from the US and UK and who have all but confirmed it。 I can confidently say that I did not even remotely expect his theory—not on my radar doesn’t begin to describe it—which made Brunt’s explanation even more satisfying。 。。。more
T SCHROERING
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I enjoyed learning about Diesel and his discoveries leading up to his disappearance and the start of WWI。 This book helps set the stage for how the diesel engine changed all the world powers views on creating power for their militaries。
Stanley
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This was a drastic change from my usual spy novels， but I have a background in Submarines and also Train service and I was interested in learning about the industrial evolution in these areas。 So， as I plodded through the biographical details of the Inventor of Diesel engines， I learned about the pre-WW1 relationship between Germany and England， the precarious Rockefeller dynasty， and that the famous engine was designed to run on other than petroleum fuel。 The author did a good job of telling Mr This was a drastic change from my usual spy novels， but I have a background in Submarines and also Train service and I was interested in learning about the industrial evolution in these areas。 So， as I plodded through the biographical details of the Inventor of Diesel engines， I learned about the pre-WW1 relationship between Germany and England， the precarious Rockefeller dynasty， and that the famous engine was designed to run on other than petroleum fuel。 The author did a good job of telling Mr。 Diesel's story。 。。。more
Phil Cotnoir
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Somewhat slow in some parts， but a phenomenal ending。
Patrick Macke
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Fascinating， well-written book about an unheralded inventor and industrialist 。。。 Not only is this a fine biography， but the author includes engaging historical bits about the run-up to WWI， Wilhelm II， the roots of the oil industry and the state of the world at the end of the nineteenth century 。。。 The subject is a wonderful discovery and while the mysterious parts leave one hanging a bit， somewhat like DB Cooper， this is a compelling piece of non fiction
Elspeth
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Utterly fascinating！！
Chris
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Completely surprised by this book。 Given to me as a gift。 Thoroughly delightful about a genius of a man。
Karen Agee
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Very fascinating book。 This man is probably one of the most important in history because of his development of the diesel engine and what it brings to us today。 One of the most interesting part of the story is how the British managed to secret him away with no one realizing who he was for so many years。 Definitely must read for followers of WW1 history。
Donna Barto
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I’m not into the mechanics of diesel engines vs other types of engines， but this book held my interest。 It covered the “politics” of getting a new invention to catch on as well as topics such as murder， suicide， political leanings， espionage ， and ethical decisions。 Well written
Adrienne
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There is way too much detail in this book about engines。 I need to just hear a podcast about this story。 But definitely an interesting story I am sure （in a much shorter version）。
Michael Springer
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Fascinating true story of the German inventor whose internal combustion engine disrupted industry and changed the modern world。 The cast of characters reads like a spy novel and includes names like Rockefeller， Edison， Busch （as in Anheuser-Busch）， Daimler， Benz and many others。 At the height of his fame， with World War I approaching， Rudolf Diesel mysteriously disappeared。 Was it an accident？ Suicide？ Or murder？
Todd Weyandt
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A really fascinating history on such revolutionary and transformative part of our history that we don’t know anything about。
Kayla
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