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Simon & Schuster

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

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Out of nothing but the government’s behest, a few bold men conjured a giant ship-building industry in 1940 and launched the ships that took America to war and to victory. In 1940, the shadow of war loomed large over American life. President Roosevelt understood that it wasn’t a matter of if the United States would be pulled into battle, but when. He foresaw a “new kind of war,” one that hinged on efforts at home. Long before the attack on Pearl Harbor, German U-boats were relentlessly attacking American vessels, prompting Roosevelt to launch a monumental ship-building campaign. He knew that no matter how much weaponry and how many tanks, planes and trucks America built, the “Arsenal of Democracy” would be useless unless it could be brought in massive volume, and at breakneck speed, to troops fighting overseas. Launching Liberty tells the remarkable story of how FDR partnered with private businessmen to begin the production of cargo freighters longer than a football field—ships he affectionately dubbed “ugly ducklings.” These colossal Liberty Ships took over six months to build at the start of his $350 million emergency shipbuilding program, far too long. The government turned to Henry Kaiser, the man who had delivered the Boulder Dam ahead of schedule and under budget, but had never built a ship in his life. Kaiser established a network of shipyards from coast to coast and recruited tens of thousands of workers eager to contribute to the war effort. Many, particularly African Americans and women, traveled from some of the most downtrodden, rural parts of the nation to help their country and to find a better life of greater equality. As German U-boats maintained their pace of attack, Roosevelt and Kaiser initiated a bold, nationwide competition among shipyards to see who could construct ships the fastest. Driven by duty and the thrill of innovation, workers reduced the shipbuilding timeline from months to weeks and then to days. Launching Liberty is a tapestry of voices reflecting the diverse American experience of World War II. From the halls of the White House to the cramped quarters of half-finished cargo ships, we hear from naval architects, welders, nurses, engineers, daycare providers, and mothers balancing family life with the demands of wartime economy. This book uncovers the inspiring, untold stories of those who rose to the challenge during one of America’s most tumultuous times. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster


Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 25, 2026


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 480 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1668017792


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 91


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.4 x 8.38 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #183,287 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #28 in History of Military Vehicles #129 in Naval Military History #609 in Women in History


#28 in History of Military Vehicles:


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Great book about WWII shipbuilding
Format: Hardcover
Excellent book. Tells the story of the massive shipbuilding effort that underpinned America's war effort in WWII. Lots of great stories, and great characters, including Henry Kaiser, the remarkable industrial titan who jumpstarted the effort despite never having built a ship before. Smooth to read, clear, and a lovely contribution to the history of WWII. Highly recommended. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2026 by David S
    • A Story We All Must Know
Format: Hardcover
I have spent decades reading about WWII. After well over 700 books it amazes me that I can still read a book like this one that tells me yet another story about the most impactful event of our modern times that I really didn't know about. I read this book in slightly less time than it took the Richmond ship yard to build the Robert Peary. It seems fashionable these days to decry Tom Brokaw's description of the WWII generation as our "Greatest Generation". I can't find a single argument against Brokaw's claim and this book can certainly be strong evidence that Brokaw knows what he's talking about. This is an action packed book that constantly amazes with the stories Most presents. His writing is quick moving and to the point. It is impossible to not hold the many characters in this book in our highest esteem. What this country and our Allied partners accomplished in WWII is as close to a miracle as history gives us and this book hammers that point home. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2026 by Timothy F. Blixt
    • Intimate stories of Henry Kaiser, welders, burners, mass production of 10,500 dwt “Liberty” ships.
Format: Hardcover
Very intimate book on the personal aspects of the “Liberty” ship building program, ranging from Henry Kaiser to individual welders and burners. The book describes the tremendous effect Kaiser and the massive ship building program had on the U.S., socially and economically. At its peak, the “Liberty” ship program employed 1.5 million people. It greatly accelerated issues such as racial integration and women in the workplace, healthcare (Kaiser Permanente), pay scales, and Federal government intervention in the economy. Unfortunately, the book is marred by several errors or exaggerations. Fortunately, they do not detract from the overall story. * In page 5 and in several other pages, author Doug Most confuses Sweden and Norway by stating that the Germans seized Sweden in 1940. * Page 11: Most incorrectly states that a torpedo had to strike its ship targets at exactly a 90 degree angle or it would fail to detonate. * It is incorrectly stated that the German navy deployed over a thousand submarines in the North Atlantic in the summer of 1940. Ridiculous! The maximum number of submarine ever deployed was around 450 and that was in 1944. In the summer of 1940, the German navy typically deployed 20 - 30 submarines in the North Atlantic and sometimes only 10 - 12. * Page 117 contains a totally incorrect interpretation of the 1936 "London Protocol" regarding merchant vessels and submarine attacks: "The regulation allowed merchant vessels and merchant marines to be minimally armed and to report to their navy when they detected nearby submarines." This statement is wrong on both counts. The 1936 London Protocol required that merchant ships not be armed, and they could not report a submarine's position to a warship. If they were armed, or if they reported the submarine's position, they could be attacked without further ado. In theory, a submarine was to comply with the so-called "cruiser rule" which required that the attacking ship remove the crew of the merchant ship before sinking it. A submarine was too small to take on a ship's crew, so all navies ignored the Protocol when war began. * Page 140: it is stated that the U.S. was sending supplies to the USSR in April of 1941. Not possible. Germany did not invade the Soviet Union until June of 1941. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2026 by Bayard B.
    • Liberty Ships & Love
Format: Hardcover
I’ve been looking forward to getting my copy and read about America coming together in making these ships happen! My parents both worked in the Todd Bath Shipyard in Maine and that is where they met! Important yes for our family and our future generations, however I knew little about the coming together portion of government and business making it happen! Doug Most did beautiful job weaving that information in this book and bringing it to light! It has depth and a tone which captures the essence of that time and the American spirit to make it happen. It’s holds your attention and makes you think how so many came together and made it happen. Amazing piece of history that should be read! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2025 by Camper Life
    • Really interesting and engaging story!
Format: Hardcover
I have been reading the book and alternating it with the audible version (which I am really enjoying!). Most does a fantastic job in describing the narrative stories of the men and women that built the liberty ships. This is a well researched and interesting read about a period of time that these ships were pivitol in helping America win WW2 win the war and help our allies. I would highly recommend this book! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2025 by Shoshana Rose
    • A superb and informative book
Format: Hardcover
As a retired US Navy officer and Fellow of the Naval War College, I read many WWII books about the Atlantic and Japanese wars. But Doug Most has chosen a subject I had not come across before and he writes it in a detailed, informative, highly interesting manner. He is a first rate scholar. I recommend the book highly. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2025 by Jon Lindseth
    • A fascinating slice of wartime history
Format: Hardcover
This is a fascinating slice of little-known wartime history, and Doug Most tells it beautifully, in a way that draws the reader deeply into the story. We're living through a time where feeling patriotic can be difficult, but the storylines in this book make me proud.
Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2025 by William
    • Sadly, error mar what could have been a five-star book.
Format: Kindle
(This review is written by Richard Binder, author of “SURRENDER! The End of World War II, and the Pens that Signed the Axis Death Warrants.”) The history of the World War II Liberty ships is the heroic story of American ingenuity, will, and determination in a time of emergency, and author Doug Most tells it very engagingly in “Launching Liberty.” The personal anecdotes, the fragments of speeches, and the other bits and snips from the time all work together to create an atmosphere that is richly immersive. It’s easy for the reader to feel almost part of the story, and I must say that I enjoyed that aspect of the book immensely. Good historical writing starts and ends with rigorous research, however, and given the tremendous amount of research the author had to do for this book, it’s a real shame that the book is marred throughout with obvious errors and oversights, including at least one significant omission that could have added to the story. For example: “German chancellor Adolf Hitler had France, Denmark, and Sweden all in his hands.” (Here’s where historians can, and do, legitimately disagree. To me, “in his hands” means “under his control,” and that was not the case. Yes, Hitler had spies in Sweden, and yes, Sweden made concessions to Hitler in regards to supplying raw materials such as iron. But Sweden, as a neutral nation, interned combatant nations’ personnel on both sides, making no attempt to serve Hitler’s interest by rooting out Allied personnel such as Beatrice Darlow, an SOE agent who remained active while interned after her 1943 escape from Denmark.) “The cherry blossoms in Washington were in full bloom [in 1941] … The way Roosevelt saw it, if U.S. aid to Britain and Russia could somehow combine to defeat Hitler’s Germany…” (Cherry blossom season in Washington, D.C., is generally the two weeks around April 1. At that time, Germany and Russia were operating under the Molotov-Ribbentrop nonaggression pact and had divided Poland between themselves according to a secret protocol of the pact. Hitler did not launch Operation Barbarossa, attacking Russia and pushing it into the Allied camp, until June 22, 1941.) “The President was relaxing in his study at the White House with his aide Harry Hopkins on the morning of December 7, 1941, when his secretary said she had Frank Knox, Roosevelt’s secretary of the Navy, on the phone, demanding to speak with him immediately. ‘Mr. President, it looks like the Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor,’ Knox said.” (The author appears to have forgotten the 5-1/2-hour time difference. The first bomb of the Japanese attack exploded at about 7:53 a.m., doing no damage, near the hangars at the southwest end of Ford Island. With the time difference, it was 1:23 in the afternoon in Washington, and the news was communicated to reach Roosevelt shortly after 1:30.) “The following day, December 9, a day after Roosevelt declared war on Japan, and two days before he would declare war against Germany and Italy…” (The Constitution allots the power to declare war to the Congress, not the President. At 12:30 p.m. on December 8, 1941, Roosevelt delivered to the combined Houses of Congress his “Day of Infamy” speech, in which he asked that the Congress declare war on Japan. It did so, passing Joint Resolution 116 at 1:10 p.m., and Roosevelt approved the resolution at 4:10 p.m. Three days later, on December 11, both Germany and Italy both declared war on the U.S. In response, the U.S. Congress declared war on Germany and Italy. Roosevelt approved those resolutions at 3:10 p.m.) “[T]he John W. Brown, which was to carry both troops and cargo, was no defenseless cargo ship—it was armed with a .50-caliber gun in the bow, a .38-caliber gun and two .50-caliber guns in the stern, four more 20 mm firearms on the bridge, and a pair of 20 mm guns resting on elevated platforms on the starboard and port.” (There were no .50-caliber machine guns or .38-caliber pistols mounted on a Liberty ship. The guns in question were 3-inch/50-caliber anti-aircraft guns and a 5-inch/38-caliber naval rifle. The “caliber” portion of the designation refers to the length of the barrel in relation to the bore; a 3-inch/50-caliber gun has a barrel whose length is 50 times the bore, or 150 inches, and a 5-inch/38-caliber naval rifle has a barrel whose length is 38 times the bore, or 190 inches.) “When John Fitzgerald Kennedy finally caught up with his squadron to man one of the boats carried by the Liberty ship that would patrol the Panama Canal Zone, he was assigned to command PT-109.” (Along with PT-107 and PT-108, PT-109 was embarked in August 1942 as deck cargo aboard S.S. Stanton as part of a squadron that was to patrol the Canal Zone. Before the ship’s arrival in Panama, PT-109 was reallocated and went instead via New Caledonia to the Solomon Islands, beginning her service there in December 1942. John F. Kennedy was initially assigned to PT-101 in the Canal Zone squadron. In February 1943, while in Jacksonville, Florida, awaiting transport, he contacted Massachusetts Senator David I. Walsh, a family friend who was Chairman of the Naval Affairs Committee, asking for a combat assignment. Walsh diverted his assignment from Panama, sending him to the South Pacific to command PT-109. By the time he arrived, the boat was in rather sad condition.) In the Epilogue, the author gives brief postwar histories highlighting the accomplishments of several of the major figures involved in the Liberty Ship effort, including William Francis Gibbs, America’s foremost ship designer of the 20th century. However, he fails to mention Gibbs’ supreme achievement, the one for which he is best known, the designing of S.S. United States, the fastest transatlantic liner in history. And this, despite the presence in the bibliography of Steven Ujifusa’s marvelous book on Gibbs, “A Man and His Ship: America’s Greatest Naval Architect and His Quest to Build the S.S. United States”, and Frank O. Braynard’s book, “By Their Works Ye Shall Know Them: The Life and Ships of William Francis Gibbs, 1886-1967”. The problem, in simple terms, is that errors like these, especially in an otherwise intriguing story, can leave the reader in one of two states: the uninitiated reader will have absorbed a fair amount of historical inaccuracy, while the informed reader will be hard pressed to trust the rest of the book. More careful editing could have eliminated some, but not all, of the gaffes. “Launching Liberty” is a good, and important, story, and I hope that we will soon see a revised edition with the errors of the present edition corrected. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2025 by Barbara H Binder

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