The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. The story of the dramatic transformation of Detroit from motortown to the arsenal of democracy, featuring Edsel Ford, who rebelled against his pacifist father, Henry Ford, to build a manufacturing complex that was crucial to winning WWII.

As the United States entered World War II, the military was in desperate need of tanks, jeeps, and, most important, airplanes. Germany had been amassing weaponry and airplanes for five years—the United States for only months. So President Roosevelt turned to the American auto industry, specifically the Ford Motor Company, where Edsel Ford made the outrageous claim that he would construct the largest airplane factory in the world, a plant that could build a “bomber an hour.” And so began one of the most fascinating and overlooked chapters in American industrial history.

Drawing on unique access to archival material and exhaustive research, A. J. Baime has crafted a riveting work of narrative nonfiction that hopscotches from Detroit to Washington to Normandy, from the assembly lines to the frontlines, and from the depths of professional and personal failure to the heights that Ford Motor Company and the American military ultimately achieved in the sky.

“A touching and absorbing portrait of one of the forgotten heroes of World War II . . . A. J. Baime has given us a memorable portrait not just of an industry going to war but of a remarkable figure who helped to make victory possible.” — Wall Street Journal

“Fast-paced . . . the story certainly entertains.” — New York Times This riveting narrative brings to life the high-stakes race to arm a nation and the untold story of the family at the center of it all.

A Father-Son Conflict: Explore the intense clash between pacifist Henry Ford and his son, Edsel, who risked everything to support the war effort against his father’s will. Industrial Innovation: Witness the monumental undertaking of building the world’s largest factory and the race to fulfill the outrageous promise of producing one bomber every hour. The Home Front at War: Go behind the scenes of the dramatic transformation of Detroit into the “arsenal of democracy” that was crucial to Allied victory. American Ingenuity: Discover an overlooked chapter of US history where the American auto industry was retooled to become the decisive weapon of the war.