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A review by dunguyen
Freedom's Forge: How American Business Built the Arsenal of Democracy That Won World War II by Arthur Herman
3.0
Freedom's Forge is a pretty interesting book but for me it had some significant drawbacks. Freedom's Forge is really an ode to private enterprise and the ingenuity and industriousness of American manufacturing in the second world war. It details primarily with the key people who before the war became the utmost industrialists of the country before then turning to war production. Another key narrative is how the special American private-public manufacturing helped produce the munitions, planes, tanks, small arms and more to help the allies win the war.
I really found the narrative interesting with some of the key people who could see how manufacturing could be done more efficiently. The entire subject is also interesting, about war economy and the logistics of production but I think it was not utilized as well as I would have liked. Some of the more interesting aspects for me was the New Deal and the depression but in the book, it is barely mentioned. I do not know enough American history to know what the New Deal had of effect on private enterprise and I really wished the author would spend more time analyzing how the entire American industry and business was like before the war and how it allowed for the massive production that supplied to all of the allies. I would also really have liked more description of the post-war economy which I didn't think was described all that much. And perhaps less focus on the individual characters which at some points almost verged into hero worship.
Overall an interesting book that I think could have been much more if it focused more on the history of the economy and production rather than the story of the few people who lead the charges.
I really found the narrative interesting with some of the key people who could see how manufacturing could be done more efficiently. The entire subject is also interesting, about war economy and the logistics of production but I think it was not utilized as well as I would have liked. Some of the more interesting aspects for me was the New Deal and the depression but in the book, it is barely mentioned. I do not know enough American history to know what the New Deal had of effect on private enterprise and I really wished the author would spend more time analyzing how the entire American industry and business was like before the war and how it allowed for the massive production that supplied to all of the allies. I would also really have liked more description of the post-war economy which I didn't think was described all that much. And perhaps less focus on the individual characters which at some points almost verged into hero worship.
Overall an interesting book that I think could have been much more if it focused more on the history of the economy and production rather than the story of the few people who lead the charges.