This book offers the answer to the long-standing mystery surrounding the true fate of one of history's greatest inventors, Rudolf Diesel, who disrupted the status quo before vanishing into thin air on the eve of World War I.

On September 29, 1913, the steamboatDresden is located around halfway between Belgium and England. Among the most famous persons in the planet, Rudolf Diesel, is on board, and his revolutionary internal combustion engine is poised to revolutionize the commercial world. But Diesel never quite manages to reach his objective. Newspapers from all around the world speculate on whether his absence throughout the night was the result of a murder, suicide, or accident.

Diesel rose from poverty in Europe to become a multimillionaire thanks to his strong engine that runs on inexpensive gasoline derived from petroleum. By doing this, he turned the tables on two very powerful men: John D. Rockefeller, the world's richest man and the originator of Standard Oil, and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. He also rose to fame on a worldwide scale.

The engine was something the Kaiser wanted in order to someday confront the Royal Navy of Great Britain with a fleet of submarines. Diesel, however, insisted that his engine be used for the good of all people and would not allow the British or any other nation to have the technology. For the vast and prosperous oil company owned by John D. Rockefeller, the engine presented an existential threat. As electric lighting began to supplant kerosene lamps, the globe's growing demand for gasoline to power industry and automobiles was the foundation of Rockefeller's financial success.

At the start of this new age of oil and electricity, Europe was on the point of war. Rudolf Diesel was increasingly concerned about Germany's growing nationalism and military spending. While traveling to London to start a new company that would help Britain revive its failing submarine program, the inventor disappeared.

New York Times bestselling author Douglas Brunt presents a stunning new conclusion on Diesel's destiny in light of the revived probe. The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel, written by New York Times bestselling author Jay Winik, is described as "equal parts Walter Isaacson and Sherlock Holmes, yanking back the curtain on the greatest caper of the 20th century in this riveting history."