Freedom's Forge - by Arthur Herman (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - SELECTED BY THE ECONOMIST AS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR

"A rambunctious book that is itself alive with the animal spirits of the marketplace."--The Wall Street Journal

Freedom's Forge reveals how two extraordinary American businessmen--General Motors automobile magnate William "Big Bill" Knudsen and shipbuilder Henry J. Kaiser--helped corral, cajole, and inspire business leaders across the country to mobilize the "arsenal of democracy" that propelled the Allies to victory in World War II. Drafting top talent from companies like Chrysler, Republic Steel, Boeing, Lockheed, GE, and Frigidaire, Knudsen and Kaiser turned auto plants into aircraft factories and civilian assembly lines into fountains of munitions. In four short years they transformed America's army from a hollow shell into a truly global force, laying the foundations for the country's rise as an economic as well as military superpower. Freedom's Forge vividly re-creates American industry's finest hour, when the nation's business elites put aside their pursuit of profits and set about saving the world.

Praise for Freedom's Forge

"A rarely told industrial saga, rich with particulars of the growing pains and eventual triumphs of American industry . . . Arthur Herman has set out to right an injustice: the loss, down history's memory hole, of the epic achievements of American business in helping the United States and its allies win World War II."--The New York Times Book Review

"Magnificent . . . It's not often that a historian comes up with a fresh approach to an absolutely critical element of the Allied victory in World War II, but Pulitzer finalist Herman . . . has done just that."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A compulsively readable tribute to 'the miracle of mass production.' "--Publishers Weekly

"The production statistics cited by Mr. Herman . . . astound."--The Economist

"[A] fantastic book."--Forbes

"Freedom's Forge is the story of how the ingenuity and energy of the American private sector was turned loose to equip the finest military force on the face of the earth. In an era of gathering threats and shrinking defense budgets, it is a timely lesson told by one of the great historians of our time."--Donald Rumsfeld

Review Quotes

"A rambunctious book that is itself alive with the animal spirits of the marketplace."--The Wall Street Journal

"A rarely told industrial saga, rich with particulars of the growing pains and eventual triumphs of American industry . . . Arthur Herman has set out to right an injustice: the loss, down history's memory hole, of the epic achievements of American business in helping the United States and its allies win World War II."--The New York Times Book Review

"Magnificent . . . It's not often that a historian comes up with a fresh approach to an absolutely critical element of the Allied victory in World War II, but Pulitzer finalist Herman . . . has done just that."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A compulsively readable tribute to 'the miracle of mass production.' "--Publishers Weekly

"The production statistics cited by Mr. Herman . . . astound."--The Economist

"[A] fantastic book."--Forbes

"Freedom's Forge is the story of how the ingenuity and energy of the American private sector was turned loose to equip the finest military force on the face of the earth. In an era of gathering threats and shrinking defense budgets, it is a timely lesson told by one of the great historians of our time."--Donald Rumsfeld

"World War II could not have been won without the vital support and innovation of American industry. Arthur Herman's engrossing and superbly researched account of how this came about, and the two men primarily responsible for orchestrating it, is one of the last great, untold stories of the war."--Carlo D'Este, author of Patton: A Genius for War

"It takes a writer of Arthur Herman's caliber to make a story essentially based on industrial production exciting, but this book is a truly thrilling story of the contribution made by American business to the destruction of Fascism. With America producing two-thirds of the Allies' weapons in World War II, the contribution of those who played a vital part in winning the war, yet who never once donned a uniform, has been downplayed or ignored for long enough. Here is their story, with new heroes to admire--such as William Knudsen and Henry Kaiser--who personified the can-do spirit of those stirring times."--Andrew Roberts, author of The Storm of War

About the Author

Arthur Herman, visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, is the author of How the Scots Invented the Modern World, which has sold more than half a million copies worldwide. His most recent work, Gandhi & Churchill, was the 2009 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction.