The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I
(Atria Books, 2023)

Saturday, September 30
2:00 p.m.
Bethel United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall

About the book
On September 29, 1913, one of the most famous men in the world, Rudolf Diesel, vanished from the steamship Dresden as it crossed the North Sea from Belgium to England. Diesel had become a multi-millionaire with a powerful new internal combustion engine that didn’t require expensive petroleum-based fuel, but he also became the enemy of two powerful men: Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil and the richest man in the world. Was his disappearance an accident, suicide, or murder? Douglas Brunt provides an astonishing new conclusion about Diesel’s fate.

About the author
Douglas Brunt is the bestselling author of three novels, Ghosts of Manhattan, The Means, and Trophy Son. He also hosts the top-rated SiriusXM author podcast, Dedicated with Doug Brunt, in which he converses with some of the world’s greatest writers about their creative process and latest work.

Brunt will be in conversation with Laurie S. Fulton at the event.

Laurie S. Fulton served as U.S. Ambassador to Denmark from 2009 to 2013 and retired in 2014 as a partner in the law firm Williams & Connolly LLP. She serves on the board of the National Archives Foundation and is co-chair of the Ambassadors Circle of the National Democratic Institute.

Purchase the book
Please help support local independent bookstores by purchasing this book at Browseabout Books, official bookseller of the History Book Festival. Online sources and digital versions are tempting; however, supporting local brick and mortar shops helps to preserve our vibrant main streets. Drop by Browseabout, order books online, or call the store at 302-226-2665. You also may purchase a copy at biblion in Lewes.

About the Festival
The History Book Festival is the first and only book festival in the United States devoted exclusively to history. With the help of our presenting funding partners — Delaware Humanities and The Lee Ann Wilkinson Group, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices I PenFed Realty — as well as our program and community partners, volunteers, and donors, the 2023 History Book Festival will be full of great discussions with authors of newly published narrative nonfiction and historical fiction. Our Keynote Address is presented by Sally Mott Freeman and John K. Freeman, and our Closing Address is presented by Dogfish Head Beer & Benevolence.

Special thanks to our program partners for their continuing support: the Lewes Public Library for event promotion and venue; Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, official bookseller of the History Book Festival; Lewes Chamber of Commerce for event promotion, and the Cape Gazette and Delmarva Public Media, our media partners.

Additional thanks to our community partners: ACLU Delaware, Beebe Healthcare, CAMP Rehoboth, Historic Lewes Farmers Market, Lewes Historical Society, Rehoboth Art League, Rehoboth Beach Historical Society & Museum, Seaside Jewish Community, and Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice (SDARJ).