Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II

I'm an avid history reader including a lot of books on the Second World War. Any reader will be aware that the United State's industrial capacity was a bedrock upon which our armies and those of our allies relied in crushing the Axis. This book goes into the depths of how that capacity was realized by conversion and expansion in a very short time. In a matter of 40 months, the United States went from producing a few airplanes a year - without assembly line techniques to producing over 90,000 in1944 alone. Among the thousands of naval vessels that were floated during the war were included over 100 aircraft carriers (granted, many were the small convoy escort type). The list astounds. Someone had to organize the logistics and marry capitalist industries with federal money to enable "the sleeping giant to wake" (with Yamamoto may or may not have said abut the US). This book focuses on two major captains of industry who were responsible for in many cases creating a lot of somethings from nothing. Bill Knudson was a General Motors executive and production master. As the threat of war for the US became apparant, FDR was smart enough to call on Knudson and hand him enormous influence (and later power) to organize willing industrial participants, quickly contract and obtain federal financing and keep regulations and regulators at bay so all of it could happen quickly. One of Knutson's best gets was Henry Kaiser, a major western builder of dams and highways. Kaiser knew nothing about shipbuilding but knew a lot about big projects, had incredible drive and a bevy of talented engineers and production specialists working for him. He built some of the major shipyards (from mud flats) that floated an enormous navy by 1945. Others who played significant roles are portrayed as well. Arthur Herman is a talented writer in whose pen this story of production organization, problems and solutions crackles. The five years or so from the late 1930's to 1944 (things were well on their way to winding down for the most part in 1945) are as exciting in Herman's hands as the campaigns to liberate Europe or Island hop across the Pacific. This is a broad based account. Issues and discoveries abound in fascinating parts of the story. The discovery of magnesium as an ideal component for the incendiary bombs that wrecked havoc on Japan's largely wood and paper cities, the conversion of automobile assembly lines to produce tanks, the creation (and problem correction) of the seemingly magical Liberty Ships that would eventually be produced in only thirty days (the record was five days from keel to launch, but that proved to be too expensive a process). Fascinating was the design and production of the B-29 Superfortress. I didn't know it had over 40,000 parts or that the B-29 project cost more than the Manhattan Project. Creating new factory layouts, bringing major sub-contracted components to the assembly factories, debugging a plane that went higher with new systems and components than had flown before are all fascinating stories in this superlative work. The book describes a model and mind-set that would be difficult to duplicate today. Government pointed the way and defined the need, provided the money, and then pretty much got out of the way. The munitions makers made profit - but this book demonstrates that incentives work and letting skilled experts at production and engineering do their thing provides probably the quickest route to filling the coffers with a lot of what is needed in a war. I don't know that the post-World War II environment - with our regulations, contract and bidding requirements, and the notion that central planners know better - could come close to meeting the needs of a true emergency quickly and efficiently. My understanding of World War II has been more thoroughly rounded with details about an incredibly important part of the effort but one that has been consistently overlooked as it lacks the dash of dive bombing and beach storming. While organizing production for victory may lack the thrill of of Patton's dash across France, it is a hell of a good story. World War II fans or anyone wanting to delve into how capitalist organizations can respond when incentivized and pointed toward defined end goals will very much enjoy this work.

If you want a shot of pure American pride with a very nuanced view of the US this is an essential read. The contribution of these patriotic industrialists was awe inspiring, and it would be tempting to tell this story as a wonderfully realized fairy tale. Instead, the author brilliantly depict our messy democracy and the inherent tensions between labor and management, bureaucrats and entrepreneurs, and goal oriented executives and suspicious socialists. It was inspiring to remember what this country could accomplish when our freedom was genuinely threatened.

There is no shortage of books about WWII that list all the accomplishments Allied Forces were able to complete using aircraft, boats, ships, tanks, trucks, guns, ammunition and numerous other products. But there is precious little written about where all those things came from. Arthur Herman takes a shot at addressing that shortcoming. === The Good Stuff === * Herman truly understands the issue, both the problems and the solutions. It took a while for American production to get off the ground, and the author is able to examine why the delays, and explain them without resorting to innuendo or "conventional wisdom". He gives a balanced look at the goals and limitations of manufacturers, labor, government agencies and the military, and works his way through the minefield of conflicting opinions and agendas. * The book is very readable, and really a "fun" read. Herman does manufacturing folks a credit by capturing some of the types of humor common to such people. In one example, he relates a newly hired government official so busy that he receives a rejection letter for the very position he is occupying...and notices that he actually had signed the letter in his new capacity. * The book contains a number of relatively independent stories, capturing aircraft manufacture, shipbuilding, vehicle and tank factories and a few other industries. He does a masterful job of capturing the spirit and determination of the four key players, labor, management, government and the military. The path wasn't always smooth, but these folks were determined. * Herman captures some of the fine details that can do more to tell the story than pages and pages of facts; The US Army refused to have uniform buttons that didn't have horn or ivory; a female riveter in a shipyard afraid to join her coworkers in "jumping" scaffolds 70 feet above the ground; Navy Secretary Frank Knox making a statement that the Navy "is not going to be caught napping"...on December 4, 1941. While seemingly trivial anecdotes, they clearly communicate some of what was really going on in the US at this time. === The Not-So-Good Stuff === * Herman can be a bit "flip" about some of his facts. He states that Las Vegas really wasn't built by Bugsy Segal, but rather by the gambling of workers from nearby Hoover Dam. Well, maybe, but the issue is certainly up for debate. * The history seems a bit "sanitized". I am not sure this is really Herman's fault. Industrialists like Henry Ford, K.T. Keller and Henry Kaiser were certainly capable of "massaging" the official record, as were government officials. The book is heavily weighted towards things that went well and were successful, but surely there were more than a few disasters. To be fair, Howard Hughes and the Spruce Goose were discussed. === Summary === It was a very good book, and I enjoyed reading it. The industrial side of WWII is an often overlooked topic, and this is about as good a look at it as I have seen. I would have preferred more detail on some parts of it, and some of the writing could have been a bit more critical. Still, overall it was a great read, and I finished it in a day or two. As an aside, it was somewhat frustrating to see what has happened to American industry (steel, automobiles, shipbuilding) in the 70 years since WWII.

This is a fascinating insight into how and who were instrumental in gearing the US up for the Allied battle in WWII. After a career in manufacturing it was a delight to read about the ingenuity and commitment to excel throughout the country that made victory possible. Of course there were many other parts to the overall success in the war which are beyond the scope of the book which aren't covered but this book deals with the infrastructure needed and how it was created at huge scope and incredible speed to react to the Allies needs. It's chilling to think about where the US is today in comparison to potential adversarial threats after downsizing manufacturing in recent decades.

I strongly recommend that anyone in a passing interest in management, history, economics or storytelling read this book. If you like all of those aspects you will not be able to put it down.

This is a cracking book and once started very hard to put down. Covers a facet of WW2 which most people have little knowledge of. The book covers many different topics and is a fascinating read. Is a great example of what a few key people with real skills and experience can do when they put their heads down and "go for it" Anyone interested in Manufacturing technology, American manufacturing history, how WW2 was won and how the US came out of WW2 with a massive manufacturing machine to rebuild the countries devastated by the war will enjoy this book.

Here's how a first generation Danish and a third-generation German emigrant started the US military-industrial complex, and it's one hell of a good story.

Super livre qui raconte l’histoire de l’industrie américaine durant la seconde guerre mondiale. Très enrichissant et intéressant, m’a appris beaucoup

Arthur Herman comenta, como poucos, a exuberância da economia americana e o teste dos limites das capacidades industriais dos Estados Unidos durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial. Fantástico!