• Freedom's Forge

  • How American Business Built the Arsenal of Democracy That Won World War II
  • By: Arthur Herman
  • Narrated by: John McDonough
  • Length: 16 hrs and 58 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (650 ratings)

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Freedom's Forge  By  cover art

Freedom's Forge

By: Arthur Herman
Narrated by: John McDonough
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Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize finalist Arthur Herman pens this fascinating look at how two businessmen turned the U.S. into a military powerhouse during World War II. In 1940, FDR asked General Motors CEO William Knudsen to oversee the production of guns, tanks, and planes needed for the war. Meanwhile, industrialist Henry J. Kaiser presided over the building of “Liberty ships” - vessels that came to symbolize America’s great wartime output.

©2012 Arthur Herman (P)2012 Recorded Books

What listeners say about Freedom's Forge

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Enlightening. Amazing, Great Narration

Would you listen to Freedom's Forge again? Why?

I have been waiting for this book to come out on audio since I saw the author's on TV promoting it.

WWII has always fascinated me and I have always wondered how quickly after the attack on Pearl Harbor the U.S. was able to convert its factories to producing the materials needed for war. The surprising fact I learned from this book was planes, ships, tanks, and guns were already being produced and production was on the upswing.

Yes I will be listening to this book several times. Today we have no clue how primitive our factories were and how long it took to retool machines. It took the foresight of a few political leaders to start early to save Britain by getting the best individuals (regardless of party affiliations) and ask them to serve (for no salary).

This book is great for WWII enthusiasts and business historians. It illustrates what can be done when there is a will to do it.

A fascinating miss link in the annals of WWII literature.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Which character – as performed by John McDonough – was your favorite?

It is a straight read for the most part but the narrator is outstanding.

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12 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating

I'm still not sure why I enjoyed this book so much. I was fascinated by it, while at the same time wondered if I were the only person in the world who was. The premise of this book is a review of all the events that helped ready America to enter WWII with the power that would soon end it. In the meantime, so many new inventions, technologies and ideas were put into play that America emerged from the war as the world leader it was for so many years. This part was compelling to me, but so were the people who happened to "be at the right place at the right time" that brought it all to pass. These things could only have taken place in a country where freedom allowed it. It is freedom that fosters forward, productive thinking and doing. Without it, we stifle ourselves. Here is a prayer for the future, that we don't let go of the precious little freedom remaining to us.

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10 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Fantasic Book

It's hack to say, but this should be required reading for every American. It's amazing at least half the country assumes big business is bad no matter what they do, perhaps if they had a better understanding of how business works they wouldn't automatically and irrationally hate it so. I've read a ton of WWII books and this one filled in a huge hole as it helps explain how America actually became the arsenal of democracy. It wasn't magic, it wasn't a switch that was flipped.

I really enjoyed this book and the reading is excellent as well. Take a listen to the preview and if it interests you at all I strongly believe you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

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8 people found this helpful

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Outstanding,educational.

Would you listen to Freedom's Forge again? Why?

Yes, and I will.
I want to know history and I want to know it well.

What did you like best about this story?

Capitalism triumphed evil!
The ingenuity of Americans, from engineers to high school drop outs was inspiring.

Which character – as performed by John McDonough – was your favorite?

Knudsen.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Capitalism won the war.
Not the Socialist FDR and not the Government and their central planners.
If the government had tried to build the war machine, we would have been defeated!!!!

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Unbiased Truth

If you could sum up Freedom's Forge in three words, what would they be?

truthful honest unbiased

What other book might you compare Freedom's Forge to and why?

The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal

Which character – as performed by John McDonough – was your favorite?

Knudsen

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Who really created the Arsenal of Democracy?

Any additional comments?

An outstanding book that tells the unbiased truth about the Arsenal of Democracy, WWII, and the New Dealers.

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic Book.

If you could sum up Freedom's Forge in three words, what would they be?

informative, interesting, Fun

Any additional comments?

This is a very interesting true account of how America dominated the world because of its leaders and the power of free reign industrial development and production.

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5 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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The business of America at war.

This is a story of how The Greatest Generation was used.
A hagioagraphy of the minions to the corporate titans of World War II, the dollar-a-year men fighting heroically for continued civilian production profits in addition to cost-plus government contracts. No efforts made here to engage with the issues of centralized wartime planning, union demands, worker lives in the new factory boomtowns,.. just a series of great industrial productivity records, thanks to the wisdom, pluck and determination of our business leaders. He has only good things to say about them all - even Henry Ford, Charles Lindenberg, fast-fisted Sorensen... And no mistakes were ever made, no malfunctions, no quality issues, no lives lost, just rolling on making more and more... Maybe Herman really doesn't know about wartime planning in other counries, and that's why this reads like Russian tales of stakhanovite Heroes of Soviet Labor.
The orotund rolling cadences of John McDonough give exactly the foghorn note befitting this restrained bombast. His is oratory from long ago, speaking after dinner to a 1965 county Chamber of Commerce.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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What a great book!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, because this period in North American history was so important to the entire world.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Freedom's Forge?

How almost over night the major factories switched to war time production.

What about John McDonough’s performance did you like?

The perfect narrator for this historical period.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but I decided to streach it out.

Any additional comments?

There was so much interesting detail that I felt like I was there..

Actually, I was. In 1943, at age 16, I was a draftsman at Boeing Aircraft in Vancouver. We built the PBY- 5A and the B-29.

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The story the liberals don't want you to know

The untold snd largely forgotten history of how a few real men got the USA ready for WWII inspite pf a bumbling indecisive president.

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If Tom Clancy Wrote a WW2 History Book

If you could sum up Freedom's Forge in three words, what would they be?

Freedom Genius Amazing

What was one of the most memorable moments of Freedom's Forge?

I especially enjoyed the account of the widow of Gen. Longstreet. What a woman to work on the B-29 at the age of 80 and then run for governor later.

What about John McDonough’s performance did you like?

Engaging and very easy to understand. He has a comforting voice.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

How Freedom Trumps Fascism and Communism

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