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Andrew Jackson Higgins and the boats that won World War II
A book about the Louisiana shipbuilder Andrew Jackson Higgins and his shallow draft boats used in the numerous D-Day landings during WWII in Europe and Asia.
382 pages
First published January 1, 1994
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January 5, 2020
This is a review of an autographed, paperback copy of Jerry E. Strahan’s Andrew Jackson Higgins and the Boats that Won World War II. This was a maiden publication by author Jerry Strahan and began as a paper he wrote for his Master’s degree while studying with Professor Stephen Ambrose. In part because AJ Higgins was such a forceful and dynamic personality and in part because Strahan knows how to write a story; this is an engaging biography and not a strictly academic product.
That said and in the name of full disclosure some back story. Well maybe two back stories… three?
The copy under review is one The Wife bought, autographed in New Orleans at the National WW II Museum. The reason why there is a WW II museum in New Orleans is because Of Professor Stephen Ambrose. Among his early achievements as a biographer and historian was his three-part biography of President Eisenhower. In the course of writing this wonderful set of books he interviewed the President. Eisenhower wanted to know something about the man who was to write most of a shelf of books around Eisenhower and when Dr. Ambrose told him he was a teacher at the University of New Orleans, the former commander of Allied forces in Europe stated that it was New Orleans that won World War II. More exactly it was the boats designed and built by Andrew Jackson Higgins in New Orleans that made the critical difference in insuring that the Allies won.
What Ambrose may not have known is that Eisenhower had used some variation of this claim with many of his interviewers. Having had reason to know where and how a lot of war winning materials came to be available he would make a point of having a similar ice-breakers for as many people as possible. What makes the claim remain viable among the many people and places with convincing stories is something I would learn as a midshipman in the Naval Academy and amateur historian. More than a few war time decisions, about where and when to launch invasions were based on who had where were Higgins boats. That is, these boats were shuttled between the Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean Theaters and a typical landing tended to be vary wasteful of these boats; what with enemy shell fire and shoal waters and man-made obstacles.
Having brought our back stories up to why New Orleans and why Higgins, I have a personal part. At the time Jerry Strahan submitted his paper I knew him. I was working in Professor Ambrose’s office and on occasion I would get to speak to the not yet published author. I was one of the people who read his student paper and strongly encouraged him to make it into a book. Because others may read this far, I know for a fact that I was one of many to encourage him. The paper and the topic, Mr Higgins, was that compelling. Also Mr. Strahan, if you have long since forgotten me, it is not like we were after hours bros. So, with those disclaimers- I am the one person who convinced my long-lost pal to write: Andrew Jackson Higgins and the Boats that Won World War II. Or that is the statement I tend to make if there is no one in the room who might know better.
Higgins Industry had been in the business of boat building before World War II. One of his more successful designs was as shallow water boat, built to survive fast runs in the bayous of Louisiana. Such boats were ideal for the illegal movement of prohibition booze and for some wetlands oil exploration. It became obvious that the Navy would need boats that could combine carrying capacity, up to the weight of tanks and other heavy loads, in water also like to have shallow, hull and propeller damaging features. There was also the need for construction techniques that provided required little metal and low cost. Wood could serve that purpose. This required his designers to solve the problem of light weight plywood made to be strong enough for heavy loads and higher speeds. He quickly grasped how to use the designs he had to serve what was going to be a huge demand.
What he had could not have foreseen was the snake pit that was getting contracts to build his boats. The Navy had strong preferences for its own designs and little vision to allow consideration for an outsider. Higgins proved himself too determined and too adept to let bureaucratic barriers to keep his boats from making their contributions.
Higgins industries would also build PT Boats, and Liberty ships. He would in the course of suppressing the trade unions, employ blacks and women, at the same wages as his ‘majority’ employees.
Small counter point: What is not always admitted in the book is that while the Higgins landing craft were better than the Navy’s BUSHIPS (Bureau of Ships) preferred designs- at the outbreak of WW II. His would not always be the best design. The front-end landing gate made for faster off loading of troops and vehicles. But they also provided no protection from the aimed fire of defenders. This problem would be solved by smaller troop tractors that arrived, in numbers, later in the war.
Ending with some thoughts about Jerry Strahan. Having earned success with the well written Andrew Jackson Higgins bio, he has since written hisown auto biography. Two volumes worth reading. Managing Ignatius: The Lunacy of Lucky Dogs and Life in New Orleansis the more fun. Again full disclosure, I used to have all of his books, in hard back and autographed, but who could know that I would need them water-proofed.
That said and in the name of full disclosure some back story. Well maybe two back stories… three?
The copy under review is one The Wife bought, autographed in New Orleans at the National WW II Museum. The reason why there is a WW II museum in New Orleans is because Of Professor Stephen Ambrose. Among his early achievements as a biographer and historian was his three-part biography of President Eisenhower. In the course of writing this wonderful set of books he interviewed the President. Eisenhower wanted to know something about the man who was to write most of a shelf of books around Eisenhower and when Dr. Ambrose told him he was a teacher at the University of New Orleans, the former commander of Allied forces in Europe stated that it was New Orleans that won World War II. More exactly it was the boats designed and built by Andrew Jackson Higgins in New Orleans that made the critical difference in insuring that the Allies won.
What Ambrose may not have known is that Eisenhower had used some variation of this claim with many of his interviewers. Having had reason to know where and how a lot of war winning materials came to be available he would make a point of having a similar ice-breakers for as many people as possible. What makes the claim remain viable among the many people and places with convincing stories is something I would learn as a midshipman in the Naval Academy and amateur historian. More than a few war time decisions, about where and when to launch invasions were based on who had where were Higgins boats. That is, these boats were shuttled between the Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean Theaters and a typical landing tended to be vary wasteful of these boats; what with enemy shell fire and shoal waters and man-made obstacles.
Having brought our back stories up to why New Orleans and why Higgins, I have a personal part. At the time Jerry Strahan submitted his paper I knew him. I was working in Professor Ambrose’s office and on occasion I would get to speak to the not yet published author. I was one of the people who read his student paper and strongly encouraged him to make it into a book. Because others may read this far, I know for a fact that I was one of many to encourage him. The paper and the topic, Mr Higgins, was that compelling. Also Mr. Strahan, if you have long since forgotten me, it is not like we were after hours bros. So, with those disclaimers- I am the one person who convinced my long-lost pal to write: Andrew Jackson Higgins and the Boats that Won World War II. Or that is the statement I tend to make if there is no one in the room who might know better.
Higgins Industry had been in the business of boat building before World War II. One of his more successful designs was as shallow water boat, built to survive fast runs in the bayous of Louisiana. Such boats were ideal for the illegal movement of prohibition booze and for some wetlands oil exploration. It became obvious that the Navy would need boats that could combine carrying capacity, up to the weight of tanks and other heavy loads, in water also like to have shallow, hull and propeller damaging features. There was also the need for construction techniques that provided required little metal and low cost. Wood could serve that purpose. This required his designers to solve the problem of light weight plywood made to be strong enough for heavy loads and higher speeds. He quickly grasped how to use the designs he had to serve what was going to be a huge demand.
What he had could not have foreseen was the snake pit that was getting contracts to build his boats. The Navy had strong preferences for its own designs and little vision to allow consideration for an outsider. Higgins proved himself too determined and too adept to let bureaucratic barriers to keep his boats from making their contributions.
Higgins industries would also build PT Boats, and Liberty ships. He would in the course of suppressing the trade unions, employ blacks and women, at the same wages as his ‘majority’ employees.
Small counter point: What is not always admitted in the book is that while the Higgins landing craft were better than the Navy’s BUSHIPS (Bureau of Ships) preferred designs- at the outbreak of WW II. His would not always be the best design. The front-end landing gate made for faster off loading of troops and vehicles. But they also provided no protection from the aimed fire of defenders. This problem would be solved by smaller troop tractors that arrived, in numbers, later in the war.
Ending with some thoughts about Jerry Strahan. Having earned success with the well written Andrew Jackson Higgins bio, he has since written hisown auto biography. Two volumes worth reading. Managing Ignatius: The Lunacy of Lucky Dogs and Life in New Orleansis the more fun. Again full disclosure, I used to have all of his books, in hard back and autographed, but who could know that I would need them water-proofed.
September 14, 2019
Very readable scholarly biography of Andrew Jackson Higgins, a little slow in parts but with a great many interesting sections and providing for me a good view on the research and development and industrial aspects of World War II, something I haven’t often read about.
Higgins and his company did a lot in World War II, something summarized nicely in several sections of the book. His foremost achievement and one I knew something about before I read the book was that his company designed the vast majority of the landing craft (LCPs, LCPLs, LCVPs, LCMs as well as also working on PT boats and airborne deployed lifeboats) used by the Allies (especially by the United States at Normandy and in the Pacific) and constructed a large number of them (a staggering 20,094 boats for the Allies, with at one time 92 percent of the U.S Navy comprised of boats designed and built at the Higgins plants in New Orleans). These boats were absolutely vital to the war effort, that without “Higgins’ uniquely designed craft there could not have been a mass landing of troops and materiel on European shores or the beaches of the Pacific islands, at least not without a tremendously higher rate of Allied causalities.”
The book had great coverage of the design and construction of these boats, the competition they faced from other manufacturers, the resistance they met from some segments of the federal government, and their use, all of this comprising the largest portion of the book and are why I bought it. I was satisfied with the coverage (and the photographs) though in a few cases maybe some diagrams or blueprints would have been a fantastic addition as well as maybe a diagram showing the differences between the different types of landing craft. It was great to see photographs of the boats being manufactured, tested, used in training exercises, and in public relations operations. It was also great to read about the tests they underwent against competitor landing craft as well, with some competitor vessels performing so poorly they sank under test conditions. It was also interesting to read how prior to the war there was relatively little drive for landing craft to be designed and manufactured (except among the Marines), as a combination of naval leaders and manufacturers tending to focus on ships, not boats, and the assumption that in a future war (as late as 1939 apparently this thinking being prevalent) that there wouldn’t be any need for “large-scale amphibious operations,” and “that if war occurred in Europe, the French would hold back the invaders and their ports would remain open to the U.S. Navy as they had during World War I.”
The second biggest component of the book’s coverage was the numerous fights Higgins had immediately prior to, during, and immediately after World War II, with these fights taking up a lot of Higgins energies and at times presenting grave threats to his company and his employees, making it to me all the more amazing that as much was accomplished as it was. The three biggest were his fights with the Bureau of Ships (which time and time again resisted adoption of Higgins boats while pushing its own very poor designs, despite the fact that the U.S. Marines were early on enthusiastic supporters of Higgins designs), with organized labor (these fights lasting well after the end of the war), and his fighting against a black market in steel during World War II (something I knew absolutely nothing about prior to reading this book).
During all of this Higgins still found time to as mentioned work on PT boats, design and manufacture some very effective B-17 deployed airborne lifeboats, dabble in helicopter design, attempt to manufacture aircraft under license, participate in the Manhattan Project (that part could have been a lot better covered but was interesting), set up and run a very innovative and vital Higgins Boat Operations and Marine Engine Maintenance School to train 30,000 plus people to run and maintain landing craft, fight against labor racketeers, and be one of the earliest and most influential supporters to get Harry S Truman to become a Vice Presidential candidate.
The book had lots of ups and downs as far covering Higgins life and the saga of his company, with the company barely surviving labor shortages, work stoppages, not getting enough steel, being denied contracts at the last minute due to the Bureau of Ships really not liking Higgins, of constant last minute changes on government specifications on ships they ordered, of competition and lobbying against Higgins from established East Coast ship manufacturers, of risking everything by designing and building ships purely on speculation with no guarantee of any contract, natural disasters striking his New Orleans plant, housing shortages for his workers, finding enough qualified workers, and an at times an astounding lack of support from New Orleans and Louisiana politicians (though Higgins made New Orleans his adoptive home and the majority of the book is set in New Orleans, he was born in Columbus, Nebraska and was always seen as an outsider, that because “of his brashness, strong personality, outspokenness, and midwestern birthplace, Higgins was never accepted by the city’s Old South society, while his national prominence “infuriated the socially elite”).
A few complaints. I skimmed especially towards the end large sections covering the minutia of labor disputes. I would dip in and out of the many pages devoted to that and while they looked scholarly, well-researched, and necessary for any biography of Higgins weren’t riveting reading. I would have liked more information on Higgins involvement in the Manhattan Project, though what I read was interesting. There was a brief section describing Higgins very brief involvement with Preston Tucker. Maybe there wasn’t much to say or much research could turn up but I would have liked to have known more. I gather it wasn’t in the slightest bit productive. There was an interesting bit on page 57 about how the U.S. sent Captain Victor H. Krulak to observe, with Japanese permission as well as the permission of the U.S. government, a Japanese amphibious assault against China on the Yangtze River. It was amazing to learn one, as late as September 1937 (when this occurred) the U.S. and Japan were on friendly enough terms to do this and two how the intelligence gathered from this mission (Krulak photographed ramped landing boats, something not really in use yet in the U.S.) was basically disregarded by the Bureau of Ships but apparently very influential to Higgins (I wasn’t clear from the text how influential this information or the suggestions from Krulak to Higgins were).
The book has a number of black and white photographs and an extensive bibliography.
Higgins and his company did a lot in World War II, something summarized nicely in several sections of the book. His foremost achievement and one I knew something about before I read the book was that his company designed the vast majority of the landing craft (LCPs, LCPLs, LCVPs, LCMs as well as also working on PT boats and airborne deployed lifeboats) used by the Allies (especially by the United States at Normandy and in the Pacific) and constructed a large number of them (a staggering 20,094 boats for the Allies, with at one time 92 percent of the U.S Navy comprised of boats designed and built at the Higgins plants in New Orleans). These boats were absolutely vital to the war effort, that without “Higgins’ uniquely designed craft there could not have been a mass landing of troops and materiel on European shores or the beaches of the Pacific islands, at least not without a tremendously higher rate of Allied causalities.”
The book had great coverage of the design and construction of these boats, the competition they faced from other manufacturers, the resistance they met from some segments of the federal government, and their use, all of this comprising the largest portion of the book and are why I bought it. I was satisfied with the coverage (and the photographs) though in a few cases maybe some diagrams or blueprints would have been a fantastic addition as well as maybe a diagram showing the differences between the different types of landing craft. It was great to see photographs of the boats being manufactured, tested, used in training exercises, and in public relations operations. It was also great to read about the tests they underwent against competitor landing craft as well, with some competitor vessels performing so poorly they sank under test conditions. It was also interesting to read how prior to the war there was relatively little drive for landing craft to be designed and manufactured (except among the Marines), as a combination of naval leaders and manufacturers tending to focus on ships, not boats, and the assumption that in a future war (as late as 1939 apparently this thinking being prevalent) that there wouldn’t be any need for “large-scale amphibious operations,” and “that if war occurred in Europe, the French would hold back the invaders and their ports would remain open to the U.S. Navy as they had during World War I.”
The second biggest component of the book’s coverage was the numerous fights Higgins had immediately prior to, during, and immediately after World War II, with these fights taking up a lot of Higgins energies and at times presenting grave threats to his company and his employees, making it to me all the more amazing that as much was accomplished as it was. The three biggest were his fights with the Bureau of Ships (which time and time again resisted adoption of Higgins boats while pushing its own very poor designs, despite the fact that the U.S. Marines were early on enthusiastic supporters of Higgins designs), with organized labor (these fights lasting well after the end of the war), and his fighting against a black market in steel during World War II (something I knew absolutely nothing about prior to reading this book).
During all of this Higgins still found time to as mentioned work on PT boats, design and manufacture some very effective B-17 deployed airborne lifeboats, dabble in helicopter design, attempt to manufacture aircraft under license, participate in the Manhattan Project (that part could have been a lot better covered but was interesting), set up and run a very innovative and vital Higgins Boat Operations and Marine Engine Maintenance School to train 30,000 plus people to run and maintain landing craft, fight against labor racketeers, and be one of the earliest and most influential supporters to get Harry S Truman to become a Vice Presidential candidate.
The book had lots of ups and downs as far covering Higgins life and the saga of his company, with the company barely surviving labor shortages, work stoppages, not getting enough steel, being denied contracts at the last minute due to the Bureau of Ships really not liking Higgins, of constant last minute changes on government specifications on ships they ordered, of competition and lobbying against Higgins from established East Coast ship manufacturers, of risking everything by designing and building ships purely on speculation with no guarantee of any contract, natural disasters striking his New Orleans plant, housing shortages for his workers, finding enough qualified workers, and an at times an astounding lack of support from New Orleans and Louisiana politicians (though Higgins made New Orleans his adoptive home and the majority of the book is set in New Orleans, he was born in Columbus, Nebraska and was always seen as an outsider, that because “of his brashness, strong personality, outspokenness, and midwestern birthplace, Higgins was never accepted by the city’s Old South society, while his national prominence “infuriated the socially elite”).
A few complaints. I skimmed especially towards the end large sections covering the minutia of labor disputes. I would dip in and out of the many pages devoted to that and while they looked scholarly, well-researched, and necessary for any biography of Higgins weren’t riveting reading. I would have liked more information on Higgins involvement in the Manhattan Project, though what I read was interesting. There was a brief section describing Higgins very brief involvement with Preston Tucker. Maybe there wasn’t much to say or much research could turn up but I would have liked to have known more. I gather it wasn’t in the slightest bit productive. There was an interesting bit on page 57 about how the U.S. sent Captain Victor H. Krulak to observe, with Japanese permission as well as the permission of the U.S. government, a Japanese amphibious assault against China on the Yangtze River. It was amazing to learn one, as late as September 1937 (when this occurred) the U.S. and Japan were on friendly enough terms to do this and two how the intelligence gathered from this mission (Krulak photographed ramped landing boats, something not really in use yet in the U.S.) was basically disregarded by the Bureau of Ships but apparently very influential to Higgins (I wasn’t clear from the text how influential this information or the suggestions from Krulak to Higgins were).
The book has a number of black and white photographs and an extensive bibliography.
October 25, 2019
Eisenhower called him the man who won the war. Roosevelt counted on him and visited his factories. Truman trusted him and took his side in political disputes. But Andrew Higgins is largely lost to public knowledge of World War II.
He was a brawler, a drinker, a swearer, and a force of nature. He was also the largest defense contractor in US history, building more than 20,000 boats of one kind or another before and during the war. From PT boats to life boats, and especially all kinds of landing craft, Higgins designed, built and delivered superior quality water craft at costs below the competition.
From D-Day to Okinawa, his boats worked so well, soldiers and sailors sent him letters of thanks.
When workers atone of his factories unionized, he immediately engaged the union as an ally to win a federal shipbuilding contract. When the Navy needed a new design, he had a boat ready in 61 hours. Tireless, short-tempered, willing to work harder than anyone in his factories, Higgins turned a lumber importing business into an employer of thousands, and transformed New Orleans into one of the world's leading shipbuilding centers.
Of course sometimes his drive got him in trouble. Of course he was often unreasonable and demanding. Somehow it was all part of his charm.
This history is thoroughly readable, though it sometimes bogs down in detail, because the central character is so vivid and interesting. A must for history buffs.
He was a brawler, a drinker, a swearer, and a force of nature. He was also the largest defense contractor in US history, building more than 20,000 boats of one kind or another before and during the war. From PT boats to life boats, and especially all kinds of landing craft, Higgins designed, built and delivered superior quality water craft at costs below the competition.
From D-Day to Okinawa, his boats worked so well, soldiers and sailors sent him letters of thanks.
When workers atone of his factories unionized, he immediately engaged the union as an ally to win a federal shipbuilding contract. When the Navy needed a new design, he had a boat ready in 61 hours. Tireless, short-tempered, willing to work harder than anyone in his factories, Higgins turned a lumber importing business into an employer of thousands, and transformed New Orleans into one of the world's leading shipbuilding centers.
Of course sometimes his drive got him in trouble. Of course he was often unreasonable and demanding. Somehow it was all part of his charm.
This history is thoroughly readable, though it sometimes bogs down in detail, because the central character is so vivid and interesting. A must for history buffs.
August 14, 2022
I knew about Higgins from the WWII Museum in N.O. But I didn't know the full range of his accomplishments, his personality, and his drive to be consequential in winning the war (and beyond). From the introduction, when MacArthur's forces captured Salamaa, the U.S. Navy had 14,072 vessels. Higgins had designed 12,964 (92%) of them and built 8,865. He was described, as the author notes and a "Marine's man." He fought the Navy, Labor Unions (though he believed and acted on Worker's life improvement), and the politicians so that returning vets (abled and not) would have jobs when they came home. He had many flaws as well but his accomplishments deserve remembering.
January 29, 2019
Well written, easy to read book about the man who built 20,000 boats for US Navy and Army in WWII, more than 75% of the sea going craft used in winning the war. They were mostly landing craft, but they performed so much better than those designed by the navy, that they saved countless lives. The group was referred to as “Higgins” boats, and they were an integral part of every landing the Allies made. Fascinating look into the politics and financing of the war.
March 6, 2020
Biographies of larger than life personalities are often fun. This one is especially so because AJ Higgins has faded into obscurity. What a discovery, and what a life. The author tells his story in a fast paced, engaging way. The production of the materials that won WWII doesn’t sound like much of a topic, but the facts and the quality of the the story telling reveal a story you will be glad to know.
December 23, 2023
I enjoyed the book. Higgins was an entrepreneur's entrepreneur. He certainly had a fascinating career and absolutely contributed to the US military's successes in WWII.
I admit that I became fatigued with the detailed descriptions of his difficulties with the Navy, the AFL, the CIO, and politicians. However, that didn't cause me to lower my rating.
I admit that I became fatigued with the detailed descriptions of his difficulties with the Navy, the AFL, the CIO, and politicians. However, that didn't cause me to lower my rating.
February 17, 2017
I was lloking for a book about higgins boats; but I found this interesting book about Andrew Higgins and his firm
January 4, 2011
This was a struggle to finish.
I bought this book especially for a history project I was doing in school, as I was terribly interested in this Irish-American who had built the LCVP boats out of New Orleans, what without which the USA would most likely never have been able to successfully carry out any of their amphibious missions that won them many important strategic victories.
The man did his very best to look after the thousands of employees that he had working under him at the height of America's involvement in the war. There was plenty of humour in him too, best attributable through his factory motto; 'the guy who relaxes is helping the axis!'
So even though it was an enjoyable subject, I didn't feel the author was the best, and also the pressure of trying to force myself to read this for a school project didn't help either. All the same, I learnt a lot about a man who is probably all but forgotten about now, certainly outside of Louisiana.
I bought this book especially for a history project I was doing in school, as I was terribly interested in this Irish-American who had built the LCVP boats out of New Orleans, what without which the USA would most likely never have been able to successfully carry out any of their amphibious missions that won them many important strategic victories.
The man did his very best to look after the thousands of employees that he had working under him at the height of America's involvement in the war. There was plenty of humour in him too, best attributable through his factory motto; 'the guy who relaxes is helping the axis!'
So even though it was an enjoyable subject, I didn't feel the author was the best, and also the pressure of trying to force myself to read this for a school project didn't help either. All the same, I learnt a lot about a man who is probably all but forgotten about now, certainly outside of Louisiana.
July 25, 2016
It was such an interesting topic but I couldn't bring myself to finish it. I really wanted to like the book, but it was written in such a scholarly and meandering way and so full of detail that I couldn't keep hold of the narrative arc. In the hands of a good screenwriter who could dig through the piles of this book and find a single narrative, this book would make a great movie. Ultimately Higgins would make a hero you could root for -- a bold entrepreneur determined to do the right thing no matter what kind of goose chase the Navy put him through.
July 18, 2008
I really tried to like this book, but the lack of impartiality on the part of the author prevented it. I think the book was very well researched, but the interpretations of events was too parochial for an objective author.
September 11, 2011
A great book about how a Nebraska boy transplanted to New Orleans became an entrepreneur that, despite much resistance from the organized military, became the man who built the boats that won WWII.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews