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Launching Liberty

In 1940, the shadow of war loomed large over American life. President Franklin D. Roosevelt understood that it wasn’t a matter of if the United States would be pulled into the battle between Nazi Germany and Great Britain, but when. And he knew when that day came, the war would not be fought on American soil. It would be fought thousands of miles away, across the world's largest oceans. Decades earlier, he saw American soldiers forced to use British guns and fly British planes in World War I because the nation had been caught unprepared for battle. That would not happen on his watch. Long before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, German U-boats were relentlessly attacking American vessels, prompting FDR 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, at breakneck speed, to troops fighting overseas.

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Doug Most
Doug Most
Doug Most and Tessa

About Doug Most

Doug Most is a veteran journalist in Massachusetts, author of three books, and now the Executive Editor and Assistant Vice President at Boston University. His feature stories for Sports Illustrated and Boston Magazine have appeared in the anthologies Best American Sports Writing and Best American Crime Writing. He's worked at newspapers in Washington, D.C., South Carolina, and New Jersey, and he spent 15 years as the magazine and features editor at The Boston Globe. His first book, "Always in our Hearts," was a true-crime story based in New Jersey about two affluent teenagers who hid their pregnancy from their parents and killed their baby to avoid responsibility. "The Race Underground" was his second book, the non-fiction narrative history of Boston and New York struggling with dangerously overcrowded neighborhoods in the late 1800s and ultimately finding relief through the painstaking construction of subway tunnels beneath their streets. That book was turned into a PBS/American Experience documentary by the same name. His new book, "Launching Liberty," due out in August 2025 from Simon & Schuster, tells the human story of the epic race to build thousands of Liberty ships to help win World War II.

All Books by Doug Most

Launching Liberty by Doug Most Book Cover
Launching Liberty

Out of nothing but the government’s desperation, a few bold men created an unprecedented shipbuilding industry in 1941 and, on the backs of thousands of patriotic shipbuilders, built a fleet of giant steel cargo ships that carried America to war—and to victory.

The Race Underground by Doug Most Book Cover
The Race Underground

In the late 1800s, as cities like Boston and New York grew more congested, their streets became clogged with plodding, horse-drawn carts and pedestrians cried out for help. When the Blizzard of 1888 crippled the northeast, a transportation solution had to be found. America's subways were born.

Always in Our Hearts by Doug Most Book Cover
Always in Our Hearts

The true story of a pair of affluent high school sweethearts from New Jersey who hid their pregnancy from their parents, delivered their baby in secret in a motel room, and disposed of the tiny body like a bag of trash. It was a murder trial that shocked the nation. 

What Readers & Reviewers Say

"Mr. Most weaves together the egos, political hurdles and other daunting challenges…in a sweeping narrative of late-19th-century intrigue."

The New York Times, on "The Race Underground"

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