Europe – What do you get when a who-done-it is wrapped up in a page-turner history book? You have the “Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel” by Douglas Brunt. This book is Brunt’s first attempt at non-fiction, and he does a masterful job at keeping the reader spellbound at what comes next in the life and times of the man who invented the Diesel engine.
Brunt’s 2023, 350-plus-page book takes the reader back in time to relive the life of a man who ranks up there beside Thomas Edison for an invention that changed the world and what molded him to do it.
Rudolf Diesel was born on March 18, 1858, in Paris, France, to German immigrants who soon immigrated to Great Britain as war clouds developed between France and Germany in the late 1800s. Diesel was soon sent to a relative in Germany because of the Diesel family’s deteriorating financial situation in England. That relative, who saw Diesel’s genius, offered to send him to school.
He spent his formative years primarily in Germany. Diesel pursued his education and embarked on his career. Once out of school, Diesel’s career flourished, and he first landed a job with a friend while working on his revolutionary engine on the side. Diesel’s motivation extended beyond his own personal financial gains. He wanted to develop a power source to aid small businesses like his father’s. Diesel eventually developed the groundbreaking Diesel engine that would revolutionize the field of transportation and industry., though not small businesses.
Brunt follows Diesel’s life and that of the world leaders in government and business of the period: Wilhelm of Germany, Czar Nicholas of Russia, Winston Churchill of Britain, the oil tycoon John Rockefeller, Busch of beer fame, and Thomas Edison.
Diesel was motivated by a desire to create an efficient alternative to existing steam engines. He sought to develop an engine that could utilize a broader range of fuel sources, including cheaper and more readily available fuels such as vegetable oil and peanut oil. Additionally, Diesel aimed to address the inefficiencies and limitations of steam engines, particularly their high fuel consumption and reliance on large quantities of water for operation. By inventing the Diesel engine, Diesel hoped to revolutionize transportation and industry by providing a more efficient and versatile power source.
In 1892, Diesel patented his most significant invention, the compression-ignition engine, which would later be known as the Diesel engine. Unlike its predecessors, Diesel’s engine relied on compressing air to such a degree that it heated up to the point where fuel injected into the chamber would ignite without the need for a spark plug. This innovation significantly improved fuel efficiency and power output, making it ideal for a wide range of applications, including transportation, industry, and agriculture, but especially naval use and, more specifically, use in submarines.
Diesel’s invention quickly gained popularity and was widely adopted for use in various vehicles, ships, and machinery around the world. The poor little boy who once roamed the streets of Paris, running errands for his father and visiting museums while doing so, was now rich through the license of his engines. Yet, legal disputes over patents and financial woes would follow him to his death.
Tragically, Rudolf Diesel’s life came to a mysterious end when he disappeared while traveling by ship across the English Channel in 1913. His body was later found floating in the water, and the circumstances surrounding his death remain a subject of speculation and intrigue.
Brunt introduces the reader to all the popular theories about Diesel’s demise and who might have done it, but where the truth lies is up to the reader to ponder. For mystery lovers as well as lovers of history, the book is a must-read.