Doug Most — Launching Liberty: The Epic Race to Build the Ships That Took America to War

“Richly researched and ceaselessly captivating, Launching Liberty brings to life the overlooked story of an industrial miracle that proved essential in winning the war against Nazi Germany. Doug Most gives us a timely and much needed reminder of what the United States can achieve when government, titans of commerce and ordinary citizens join together in common cause and an urgent spirit of determination.” —Martin Baron, author of Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and The Washington Post, former editor of The Washington Post

“More than anything, Launching Liberty is the story of how to get tough things done—not always pretty, rarely perfect, but an achievement over daunting challenges, nonetheless. Doug Most skillfully delivers a tribute to American know-how and provides an instructive account of how America at all levels responded to crisis, united in common purpose, and accomplished the seemingly impossible.” —Walter R. Borneman, Author of The Admirals: Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy and King

In Launching Liberty, Doug Most has brilliantly illuminated an important and undervalued step in how America prepared for its fight against fascism.—David Maraniss is a New York Times bestselling author and associate editor at The Washington Post

“In Launching Liberty, Doug Most reminds us of who we used to be—and who we can still be again. This is a stunning story of American grit and ingenuity against all odds.” —Keith O’Brien, New York Times bestselling author of Charlie Hustle and Fly Girls

“Doug Most’s book may look like it’s about ships, but it’s really about people—larger than life characters like Henry Kaiser and Franklin Roosevelt, attempting to achieve the impossible, in a world on the brink. Launching Liberty has all the setup for a Hollywood film. Which it probably will be. It’s a well-reported and meaningful book that should be on every history buff’s bookshelf.” —AJ Baime, best-selling author of Arsenal of Democracy, Go Like Hell, and The Accidental President.

“Launching Liberty is the dual biography of two of the most important figures of World War II: the Liberty ship, which was built by the thousands to carry the fight to the enemy; and Henry J. Kaiser, the unexpected industrialist who made this great fleet possible. Unlike top-down WWII sagas of politicians and generals, or bottom-up accounts of foot soldiers and deckplate sailors, Doug Most has given us a critically important history from the middle – the story of the men, women and their machines that turned grand political strategies into desperately needed weapons of war. Bravo Zulu.” —Larrie D. Ferreiro, author of Churchill’s American Arsenal: The Partnership Behind the Innovations That Won World War Two

“From the bestselling author of The Race Underground comes an electrifying tale of American ingenuity and World War II’s forgotten triumph. Through meticulous research and vivid storytelling, Doug Most brings to life the remarkable race to build football-field-length cargo ships faster than any large vessel had ever been built. Launching Liberty masterfully weaves together the high-stakes drama of U-boat warfare, FDR’s desperate push for industrial mobilization, and introduces us to the colorful characters who transformed shipbuilding from a year-long process into a five-day sprint. Both a celebration of American industrial might and an intimate portrait of the diverse workforce that helped win the war one welded hull at a time.” —Neal Thompson, author of Light This Candle, Driving with the Devil, and The First Kennedys

“In Doug Most’s masterful historical narrative, the ordinary folks who labored on the Liberty ships finally get their due. Especially inspiring are the stories of Black people and women — including Wendy the Welder — whose shipyard jobs often came with hostility and discrimination. Launching Liberty shows how these workers overcame the obstacles and helped change the course of history.” —Susanne Althoff, associate professor, Emerson College, Boston; author of Launching While Female: Smashing the System That Holds Women Entrepreneurs Back

“You think you know all about World War II. You’ve read the books, watched the many television series, the movies, know all about the secret codes, the daring spies, the battles, one after another, all around the globe, D-Day and all the rest. You know the names of the planes, the tanks, the armaments, the generals and Private Ryan and Audie Murphy. You’ve spent a lifetime on this subject, know all there is to know, except – wait a minute – the events of Doug Most’s remarkable book. ‘Launching Liberty,’ the tale of the rapid, amazing construction of the 13,000 ships in four years that took our fathers and grandfathers and all of their lethal equipment to war. Hannibal had his elephants, we had the Liberty ships. Read. Enjoy. Grand stuff.”—Leigh Montville, three-time New York Times best-selling author, is the author of Sting Like A Bee, Evel, The Big Bam, Ted Williams, and more.