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

by Doug Most

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.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War

464 pages, Hardcover

Published August 19, 2025

About the author

Doug Most is a lifelong journalist, storyteller, editor and three-time author of non-fiction books. He lives outside Boston, Massachusetts, and now works as the Executive Editor and an Assistant Vice President at Boston University.

Reviews

[Renata]

sometimes I just add books to my TBR so that when I'm looking for gifts for my dad I can find them

[Alison Fulmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Permanente cardiologist in Portland Oregon I knew about Henry Kaiser and Sidney Garfield, their remarkable partnership to develop an excellent patient focussed health system (now known as Kaiser Permanente and enrolling millions of patients) and the Swan Island ship yard where Liberty Ships were built during WW2. I was surprised on moving to Portland Maine after retirement to learn that Liberty Ships were built here too. This recently published book is the definitive history of the Liberty Ships, a history that is much broader and more incredible than I knew. Very readable and super interesting

[Julia Most · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, and feel like I learned a lot about the process of building the Liberty Ships during WWII, and just how important the ships wound up being. The book does a great job exploring a niche of WWII in an interesting and exciting way.

[Mimi Braude · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read. Very interesting. I listen to the audible version which I liked. Tells a really interesting narrative around the building of the liberty ships and the peopl behind it

[Andy Tuite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a different read on WWII for me. I wonder what ingenuity and hard work looks like in 2025

[John Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Launching Liberty is a detailed story about how the US came together to build cargo ships to carry arms and munitions to Europe and Asia in record time. Some parts of the book were less interesting to me like how they manufactured the ships using lessons learned from automobile manufacturing.

I found the social changes that came about most interesting. Medical insurance was first developed on a large scale to attract workers and keep them healthy. Workers were drawn to the shipbuilding cities from all over the country. Women took jobs usually filled by men, such as welders and people of all races learned to work together.

It is an important part of our history that has not been covered in such detail as far as I know.

I have a few questions about the terminology used. The term "Merchant Marines" is used for people serving on merchant ships in this book. I learned that the proper terminology was "merchant seaman" or "merchant mariner." It's a civilian job. Also, the book describes Liberty ships as massive or huge when they are the smallest class of merchant cargo ship. It does specify that they are classified as C1 (cargo 1) and says that's the largest size. It is the smallest size. (I served on a C3.) I have seen several Liberty ships and toured one of them. Compared to other cargo ships, they are the size of small tramp steamers.

[Gregory Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Interesting story about business an industry needed to win World War 2.