JOY ON PAPER The Radio Archives

RUDOLF DIESEL: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Ever of World War I

My most ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2023 is Douglas Brunt’s historical masterpiece.

It is almost magical how the idea for this book captured Douglas Brunt. I knew him as a fine novelist–he was the 4th guest on my radio program back in April 2015. I admired him then for his ability to capture a time (2008) to create one of the best books about the financial collapse of Wall Street. Ghosts of Manhattan captured the greed and stupidity of that time in a way that was both compelling and touching.

But The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel puts Doug at a whole new level. As he says in our interview, the idea for the book was like a stroke of lightening–but what he did with the germ of an idea is truly amazing. When lightening struck, the clouds opened up. Douglas Brunt has brought to life a man who was literally forgotten. A man whose name is written with a capital ‘D’ that he deserves. You’ve seen the word all your life–now you get to know the man. Rudolf Diesel changed the world. He deserves to be remembered. And that is what this fantastic biography–impeccably research for five years–does.

Douglas Brunt has done a brilliant job, Not every historian can write a book that reads like a thriller. Not many thriller writers have the talent to create a book that will change our understanding of history.

Enjoy this interview about the most anticipated book of 2023.  It’s a mystery. It’s history.  It’s a tour de force.