Book Review: Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II (2012). Arthur Herman.

Freedom’s Forge is a very worthwhile and important history of how American businesses jumped into the fray early in World War II, after more than a decade of the Great Depression, to make America "the arsenal of democracy". The author particularly focuses on the crucial role played by Bill Knudsen (head of of General Motors) and Henry Kaiser (the construction magnate who branched out into many other business areas to serve the war effort).

This story is well-researched and intriguing, as well as inspirational. It's almost unbelievable to learn how fast businesses (both large and small) were able to re-tool and start turning out astonishing quantities of weapons and material once the U.S. went to war.

There is also a fascinating discussion of how many individuals and families were able to start small businesses as parts suppliers for the major manufacturers (with the help of a government office coordinating collection and publication of requirements) and thus escape their Depression-era poverty while aiding the war effort.

It makes one wonder why we moderns, with all our technological wizardry and productivity, don’t seem able to pull off similar overnight industrial miracles with respect to transforming our fossil-fuel based economy and way of life to ward off the worst effects of climate change. Recommended.