The Arsenal of Democracy

Posted on 23 May 2018 by A.J. Baime

In 1941, as Hitler s threat loomed ever larger, President Roosevelt realized he needed weaponry to fight the Nazis most important, airplanes and he needed them fast So he turned to Detroit and the auto industry for help The Arsenal of Democracy tells the incredible story of how Detroit answered the call, centering on Henry Ford and his tortured son Edsel, who, when asked if they could deliver 50,000 airplanes, made an outrageous claim Ford Motor Company would erect a plant that could yield a bomber an hour Critics scoffed Ford didn t make planes they made simple, affordable cars But bucking his father s resistance, Edsel charged ahead Ford would apply assembly line production to the American military s largest, fastest, most destructive bomber they would build a plant vast in size and ambition on a plot of farmland and call it Willow Run they would bring in tens of thousands of workers from across the country, transforming Detroit, almost overnight, from Motor City to the great arsenal of democracy And eventually they would help the Allies win the war.Drawing on exhaustive research from the Ford Archives, the National Archives, and the FDR Library, A J Baime has crafted an enthralling, character driven narrative of American innovation that has never been fully told, leaving readers with a vivid new portrait of America and Detroit during the war. Read The Arsenal of Democracy – kino-fada.fr I do not enjoy writing negative reviews however, I feel I must in this case because 1 The book isabout Henry and Edsel Ford and their conflicts than about the buildup for WWII It should have been titled How an Aging Henry Ford and Harry Bennett Almost Ruined The Ford Motor Company 2 As the author states, he dramatizes events Non fiction books should not be dramatized, they should be factual And if an author feels the need to dramatize, he she should reclassify the book as histori I do not enjoy writing negative reviews however, I feel I must in this case because 1 The book isabout Henry and Edsel Ford and their conflicts than about the buildup for WWII It should have been titled How an Aging Henry Ford and Harry Bennett Almost Ruined The Ford Motor Company 2 As the author states, he dramatizes events Non fiction books should not be dramatized, they should be factual And if an author feels the need to dramatize, he she should reclassify the book as historical fiction.3 The author admits that he recreates what key individuals said in some cases However, recreated statements are not made obvious in the text Also, in my opinion, if a non fiction author cannot verify a quote, he she should not use it.3 There are some historical inaccuracies, e.g., Hitler was never a house painter, he painted landscapes.4 There is no true bibliography the author only lists ten books in the Notes on the Text and Ackn...A good indeed, very good piece of history, strangely titled and, if the title had fewer than 18 words, one might think of it as a misnomer , and, at times, somewhat scattershot in terms of organization But, nonetheless, an entertaining and informative work, well worth reading with the caveat that, if you re easily distracted, the title and topical ramblings could give you a headache.With the understanding that none of these would sell books, I might offer the following alternative titles T A good indeed, very good piece of history, strangely titled and, if the title had fewer than 18 words, one might think of it as a misnomer , and, at times, somewhat scattershot in terms of organization But, nonetheless, an entertaining and informative work, well worth reading with the caveat that, if you re easily distracted, the title and topical ramblings could give you a headache.With the understanding that none of these would sell books, I might offer the following alternative titles The Histories of the Ford Family and Motor Company, With Particular Emphasis on Ford s Bri...This book falls into the category ofnot normally on my reading list It isn t because Home Front books don t have a relevance in regards to World War II, just that it isn t something I am normally all that interested in This one generally would have been even lower on the list since the book focuses on the Ford Family, another topic not high on my list of interests Interestingly enough, this combination of things that would normally cause little or no interest were a part of what makes this This book ...I loved this book My liking it though, was undoubtedly tinged by my having worked in a GM auto assembly plant for 18 years It was fascinating to read about the Detroit of the 1940 s and how it became the Arsenal of Democracy during WW II A lot of the story had to do with Henry Ford, Edsel Ford, Henry Ford II and all the people who helped them That was fine with me because that story was also fascinating Henry Ford, the one who started his family automotive empire, was a genius who was als I loved this book My liking it though, was undoubtedly tinged by my having worked in a GM auto assembly plant for 18 years It was fascinating to read about the Detroit of the 1940 s and how it became the Arsenal of Democracy during WW II A lot of the story had to do with Henry Ford, Edsel Ford, Henry Ford II and all the people who helped them That was fine with me because that story was also fascinating Henry Ford, the one who started his family automotive empire, was a genius who was also a despicable person, especially to his son Edsel Edsel however, was an admired and respected person to most people around him at the time I knew nothing of the story of Edsel Ford before this book The main st...A fantastic tale of how American industry responded to the threat of World War II and how one family of entrepreneurs Henry and Edsel Ford were deeply divided by the issue The heroes of this saga are FDR, Edsel Ford and American workers Roosevelt for his foresight and audacious imagination, Ford for his courage and patriotism, and American engineers and workers for responding to the challenge Patriarch Henry Ford is portrayed as a truly evil bastard In the 1930s, he wrote a hate filled b A fantastic tale of how American industry responded to the threat of World War II and how one family of entrepreneurs Henry and Edsel Ford were deeply divided by the issue The heroes of this saga are FDR, Edsel Ford and American workers Roosevelt for his foresight and audacious imagination, Ford for his courage and patriotism, and American engineers and workers for responding to the challenge Patriarch Henry Ford is portrayed as a truly evil bastard In the 1930s, he wrote a hate filled book of bigotry, that was translat...Growing up in the Midwest U.S., a lot of what A.J Baime wrote about the growth and changes experienced by Detroit during the Second World War, when it played a major role in terms of its industrial contributions to the Allied war effort, resonated very strongly with me Looking back over 70 years, we tend to take for granted the collaborative relationships between the federal government as represented by President Franklin D Roosevelt ...The Arsenal of Democracy FRD, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm and America at War by A.J Baime The Arsenal of Democracy is a fantastic chronicle about a father and son who had to turn their thriving automobile business into an aviation powerhouse It s about World War II and the Motor City its heroes, its villains and its legacy Best selling author, a longtime magazine editor and journalist, A.J Baime takes the reader on an exciting journey to arm the Allies before it was too late This e The Arsenal of Democracy FRD, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm and America at War by A.J Baime The Arsenal of Democracy is a fantastic chronicle about a father and son who had to turn their thriving automobile business into an a...Between The Arsenal of Democracy and Go Like Hell, A.J Baime has made himself into a sort of unofficial historian of the Ford Motor Company And even though I m not really a car guy, I really liked both of these books.The title to The Arsenal of Democracy is a bit misleading as it seems to imply that the book is about the war production effort in general, when really it focuses narrowly on Ford The subtitle is also misleading, in that it seems to imply the book will be about FDR, which it is n Betw...Aaccurate subtitle would be The Ford Family During WW2Ultimately disappointing While the narration and the story held my interest, it is a shallow effort All the faults of popular history are here over dramatization, reconstructing conversations, sloppy or nonexisting references for what is said or happening, clear delineation between good and evil I felt I could have learned just as much from Wikipedia.Also, the book is not really about DETROIT, but about the Ford Motor Company Edsel Ford is the flawed hero, Henry Ford is nuts, and his Ultimately disappointing W...

English
23 May 2018

A.J. Baime