Knudsen: A Biography

by Norman Beasley, William S. Knudsen (Introduction)

Knudsen (1879-1948) was a leading automobile senior executive with Ford Motor Company and later General Motors and a Lt. General during World War II.

Genres: Biography

412 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1947

About the author

Norman Beasley was a journalist for the Detroit Journal and the Dearborn News.

Reviews

[Chad Griffiths · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read. I knew Knudsen had a role in the war effort, but I didn’t realize just how important he actually was until I got into this book.

He wasn’t a general in the traditional sense. He came from the auto industry and ended up being the guy who figured out how to scale wartime production in a way that completely overwhelmed the Axis. Tanks, bombers, guns, trucks—you name it. Without him, the whole "Arsenal of Democracy" idea probably wouldn’t have worked the way it did.

What I really liked is that he wasn’t in it for attention. FDR made him a general, but he was all about results, not recognition. He just quietly made things happen while others were in the spotlight.

If you're into WWII history and especially the industrial side of it, this one’s worth picking up. Knudsen doesn’t get nearly the credit he deserves, and this book does a solid job of showing why that should change.

[kay huebner · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fine biography

Of a very fine mama fition of war materialne man to lead an extremely important job to organize and execute production of war materials, especially planes to Allies and US during WWII, with clear explanation of his thinking throughout. Interesting and gripping and important l

[Ken Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting times

Knudsens time in the US was the wild west of manufacturing. That world has moved to China now.
There is a chance musk can retrieve it.

[Tom Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill Knudsen was another man made by Henry Ford. To those who have read enough biographies, there are always two sides to a man: the one he shows to an employer he is trying to please and the man he is when he is only pleasing himself.
Among all of Henry's Lieutenants, Knudsen is the only one who went on to greater things after his time at Ford.
Knudsen went on to become president of GM and then he became a General in World War II, building the arsenal of democracy. It's clear that he learned everything while working for Ford and then took those skills with him the rest of his life, making sure that every plant at GM, every wartime tank and airplane production factory, was organized as an assembly line ala Ford.
In turn, Henry Ford's chief skill was not his creativity or his inventiveness. Instead, it was his decision-making acumen. From the army of creatives he assembled, Ford rejected most of their ideas and only accepted the best and those that improved the reliability and durability of the cars.
When Knudsen arrived at GM and started implementing the assembly lines, the first thing he would do is go in each factory and remove all the metal files and hammers. Files and hammers were used pre mass production to force poorly-sized parts into place. Under mass production, there would be no beating parts into place. They must be created to fit perfectly, so that all parts were interchangeable. This was a stroke of brilliance that first came directly from Henry Ford and which Knudsen wisely followed.
At the end of his life, Knudsen went around to military bases that had received the weapons he built and his only question was: "Is there anything we need to improve?" Henry Ford would have been proud.