In the first of these, Fatal Links: the Curious Deaths of Beethoven and the Two Napoleons, Altman puts forward the hypothesis that Beethoven's death was the result of deliberate poisoning on the part of agents of the Viennese authorities, at the same time drawing parallels with the deaths (by similar symptoms) of Napoleon Bonaparte and his son Napoleon II, the latter at the hands of the same Viennese authorities, by whom he was kept a virtual prisoner throughout most of his short life.
In "Fatal Links: The Curious Deaths of Beethoven and the Two Napoleons," Altman argues that Beethoven's death was a result of poisoning orchestrated by Viennese authorities, similar to the deaths of Napoleon Bonaparte and his son, Napoleon II, both of whom died under suspicious circumstances.