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

This enduring book tells the heroic, gripping, yet overlooked story of one of World War II's monumental achievements—the building of America's fleet of Liberty ships.
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With the shadow of war looming large over American life in 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt knew 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 would demand the nation be prepared in ways like never before. America's most critical need in preparation was not drafting more soldiers or manufacturing more guns. It was building more ships that could carry enormous supplies of weapons, vehicles, medical gear, food, and clothing to US and allied troops around the world. One ship could feed three million men for a day—an entire fleet could sustain troops for years.

Launching Liberty tells the remarkable story of how FDR partnered with private businessmen to build 3,000 vital cargo freighters longer than a football field—ships he affectionately dubbed "ugly ducklings." To lead its emergency ship-building operation, the government turned to Henry Kaiser, who had delivered the Boulder Dam ahead of schedule and was beginning to revolutionize healthcare for workers—but who had never built a ship in his life. Kaiser led the way in creating a network of shipyards from coast to coast and recruited tens of thousands of workers eager to help protect their country and carry America to victory on board the Liberty ships. 

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. As union tensions rose, tired prejudices toward working women and people of color came crashing down, giving rise to Rosie the Riveter and her cousin Wendy the Welder. This book uncovers the inspiring, untold stories of those who rose to the challenge, to protect not only their freedom, but their country's democracy.

Doug Most is a veteran journalist in Massachusetts, a native of Rhode Island, the author of three books, and now the Executive Editor and an Assistant Vice President at Boston University. He's worked at newspapers in Washington, D.C., South Carolina, and New Jersey. He spent 15 years as magazine and features editor at The Boston Globe, and has had feature stories appear in Best American Sports Writing and Best American Crime Writing. His latest book, "Launching Liberty," due out in August 2025 from Simon & Schuster, tells the human story behind the epic race to build the Liberty ships of World War II. His previous book, "The Race Underground," is the narrative history of Boston and New York struggling with dangerously overcrowded neighborhoods and desperately searching for relief through the painstaking construction of subway tunnels beneath their streets. That book was optioned for a PBS/American Experience documentary called "The Race Underground." Most's first book, "Always in Our Hearts," was a true-crime story based in New Jersey and Delaware about two teenagers who hid their pregnancy from their parents and killed their baby to avoid responsibility.