The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel

Starred review from July 10, 2023
“No inventor was more disruptive to the established order than Rudolf Diesel,” writes historian and novelist Brunt (Trophy Son) in this thrilling investigation. The French-German inventor of the diesel engine, a revolutionarily efficient improvement over earlier internal combustion engines, Diesel mysteriously disappeared on Sept. 29, 1913, during an overnight crossing of the English Channel. His body was found 11 days later by sailors on a Dutch steamer, who recovered Diesel’s personal effects, but left the body in the sea. Brunt analyzes several theories to explain Diesel’s death on the eve of WWI, including the possibility that he was assassinated by either Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II (who made clear that it was “essential that no other nation have access to Diesel’s genius”) or John D. Rockefeller (whose Standard Oil “required that the world be addicted to crude oil,” whereas Diesel’s engines were capable of burning alternative fuels). Brunt dismisses these and other theories, instead reaching a remarkable conclusion: Diesel, he claims, was secretly transported to Canada by way of a complex British covert operation. There he aided in engine development for the Allies. Brunt cites several pieces of evidence including Diesel’s wife’s disappearance six months after his own (presumably to join him), subsequent British breakthroughs in engine technology, and a similar fake corpse deception that was carried out by British intelligence during WWII. Brunt’s audacious yet surprisingly tenable theory makes for a wildly enjoyable outing.