How American Business Produced Victory in World War 2

HERMAN ATHUR, FREEDOM'S FORGE: HOW AMERICAN BUSINESS PRODUCED VICTORY IN WORLD WAR 2
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(February 09, 2013)
Herman Arthur, Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War 2.
Preface
The book is about the story of the amerces forgotten heroes during world war II, these heroes are people who dint take part in the battle fields but are people who wore lab coats, business suits, flannel shirts, Stetsons and spectacles. The people described were the American engineers, businessmen, production managers and all who were working either females or males. They are the American people who built the powerful machines that were used in the war. These unsung heroes produced two thirds of the military machines used during the war. Among the productions were 86,000 tanks, 2.5 million trucks 8800 naval vessels and 286000 war planes (Herman, 2012). The book is built up of a story that revolves around two figures, William signius Knudsen and Henry Kaiser. The two figures were from different places with one having risen from a shop floor to become the president of general motors` while the other had grown up in upstate New York and later went to the west to head the most titanic construction cartel that was in America.
Knudsen left the general motors` to become the head of America`s rearmament in 1940 this followed from a call by the president Roosevelt. The other character Henry Kaiser became an icon in the ship building industry which became a symbol of productive power. Knudsen had the knowledge of how to make things using metal while Kaiser was good at building. They came up and joined hands with businessmen and started America`s mobilization effort. Many of the men who joined them had never attended college with some being dropouts. As the expansion was increasing more and more companies joined in. in this force their core enemy were not the Germans or the Japanese but was the American politicians, shrill journalists, the dozens of big labor, bureaucrats, military martinets and the forces of blind fate. A terrible price was paid by many where dozens of workers died or were injured during 1942-43, for example in general motors` 189 senior executives lost their lives on job as they strived to ensure American victory (Antony, 1987).
Most of the accounts are centered on the great battle climates from midway and Tarawa all the way to d-day and also to Iwo Jima. The book is illustrating how the business community had gone into war and won even before America went to war and helped the country to win their battles when they came. Through business and other economy players the American military was transformed to the world`s most powerful and biggest. The business communities were a good set up for the after war prosperity that was likely to extend for three decades till 1970s through their fueling of the economy growth.
Thesis
The author in this book is trying to illustrate how even though business men have not always been deemed as heroes of the World War II in America they were great contributors to the success before, during and after the war. The author clearly shows how business men together with other economic players came up to produce the required war equipments to the military and also other supports. The author indicates that the business men had always prepared for this war and helped America to attain the success they got from their past preparedness.
Analysis of individual chapters
Chapter1: the gentle giant.
The author explains on the role of business in making of things. As William Knudsen says my business is making things. The chapter looks on the past life of Knudsen, the starts in February 1900 where the author explains the arrival of the streamer in the New York harbor. There was one young passenger about twenty years looking eagerly on deck and this is Knudsen. At this time William McKinley was the president and Roosevelt was governor of network and at this time the united state had just signed a treaty to build a canal from the Atlantic to the pacific. The author explains the happening during this time and some of them were that the America was starting the building of the ground subway and also the cities of Chicago, Detroit, St Louis Boston, Milwaukee and Baltimore were ready to start the American baseball league... the author explains the progress of Knudsen with the ship passing by the governors island.
Among the things the author notes are the twenty nine story park row building that were topped by the twin copper tipped domes and were the tallest building in the whole world then. The author takes note of other buildings such as the St Paul building twenty six stories, the New York world building and one that was under construction the singer building. Knudsen always liked to say that when one goes to Europe they always show you something that belonged to King Canute but when one goes to America they show you something they are going to build. The author explains the thoughts of Knudsen saying that no emperor had built America but simple men just like him had worked with their hand and mind to build it. Knudsen was one of the ten sons of a custom inspector from Copenhagen. The author explains how Knudsen had started working at an early age and he pushed carts for a glazier in Copenhagen. The young boy had squeezed time to work and attend school and had later joined a government technical school. He later worked as a clerk for a Christian firm importing bicycles. Knudsen built his first tandem bicycle while still in Denmark. Knudsen participated in bicycle pacing across Denmark, Sweden and in the northern parts of Germany.
According to the author Knudsen always knew America was the place for him to achieve his mechanical goals .when the ship arrived a voice had barked on him saying hurry up you square heeded Swede and this is one principle reason why he always was in a hurry till he became a legend in the automotive industry. He started with a job at the Seabury shipyards that is located in the Bronx`s Morris heights (Pursell, 2007). He worked reaming holes in the steel ...