Failure is not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond
by: Gene Kranz
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Amazon.com Review:
In 1957, the Russians launched Sputnik and the ensuing space race. Three years later, Gene Kranz left his aircraft testing job to join NASA and champion the American cause. What he found was an embryonic department run by whiz kids (such as himself), sharp engineers and technicians who had to create the Mercury mission rules and procedure from the ground up. As he says, "Since there were no books written on the actual methodology of space flight, we had to write them as we went along."
Kranz was part of the mission control team that, in January 1961, launched a chimpanzee into space and successfully retrieved him, and made Alan Shepard the first American in space in May 1961. Just two months later they launched Gus Grissom for a space orbit, John Glenn orbited Earth three times in February 1962, and in May of 1963 Gordon Cooper completed the final Project Mercury launch with 22 Earth orbits. And through them all, and the many Apollo missions that followed, Gene Kranz was one of the integral inside men--one of those who bore the responsibility for the Apollo 1 tragedy, and the leader of the "tiger team" that saved the Apollo 13 astronauts.
Moviegoers know Gene Kranz through Ed Harris's Oscar-nominated portrayal of him in Apollo 13, but Kranz provides a more detailed insider's perspective in his book Failure Is Not an Option. You see NASA through his eyes, from its primitive days when he first joined up, through the 1993 shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, his last mission control project. His memoir, however, is not high literature. Kranz has many accomplishments and honors to his credit, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but this is his first book, and he's not a polished author. There are, perhaps, more behind-the-scenes details and more paragraphs devoted to what Cape Canaveral looked like than the general public demands. If, however, you have a long-standing fascination with aeronautics, if you watched Apollo 13 and wanted more, Failure Is Not an Option will fill the bill. --Stephanie Gold
Product Description:
A breathtaking, first-hand account of the early days of the NASA space program, through the eyes of the man who held it all together...
In 1957, the Russians launched Sputnik and the ensuing space race. Three years later, Gene Kranz left his aircraft testing job to join NASA and champion the American cause. What he found was an embryonic department run by whiz kids (such as himself), sharp engineers and technicians who had to create the Mercury mission rules and procedure from the ground up. As he says, "Since there were no books written on the actual methodology of space flight, we had to write them as we went along."
Kranz was part of the mission control team that, in January 1961, launched a chimpanzee into space and successfully retrieved him, and made Alan Shepard the first American in space in May 1961. Just two months later they launched Gus Grissom for a space orbit, John Glenn orbited Earth three times in February 1962, and in May of 1963 Gordon Cooper completed the final Project Mercury launch with 22 Earth orbits. And through them all, and the many Apollo missions that followed, Gene Kranz was one of the integral inside men--one of those who bore the responsibility for the Apollo 1 tragedy, and the leader of the "tiger team" that saved the Apollo 13 astronauts.
Moviegoers know Gene Kranz through Ed Harris's Oscar-nominated portrayal of him in Apollo 13, but Kranz provides a more detailed insider's perspective in his book Failure Is Not an Option. You see NASA through his eyes, from its primitive days when he first joined up, through the 1993 shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, his last mission control project. His memoir, however, is not high literature. Kranz has many accomplishments and honors to his credit, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but this is his first book, and he's not a polished author. There are, perhaps, more behind-the-scenes details and more paragraphs devoted to what Cape Canaveral looked like than the general public demands. If, however, you have a long-standing fascination with aeronautics, if you watched Apollo 13 and wanted more, Failure Is Not an Option will fill the bill. --Stephanie Gold
Product Description:
A breathtaking, first-hand account of the early days of the NASA space program, through the eyes of the man who held it all together...
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Kindle edition lacks photos
The acknowledgements chapter mentions photographs. But the Kindle edition omits them. (This is common for Kindle editions; the original Kindle was designed for text, not photos.)
The book is still a great insight into Mission Control, well worth reading in whatever edition you prefer.
Rating: - An amazing account of early space flight
First, I will say do NOT read this book without also reading Flight: My Life In Mission Control by Chris Kraft. The two of these books go hand in hand and what one leaves out, the other fills in. Kranz focuses more on the technical side of the missions, and all the problems they encountered. His account of the Apollo 1 fire is haunting. Kraft on the other hand gives a lot more personal/personnel details. He tells you who was good to work with and who was not and why. This book was a VERY enjoyable ... Read More
Rating: 
- Incredibly fascinating reading--especially for fans of spaceflight
Several have brought attention to Gene Kranz' ability (or lack thereof) to write with any major talent--and while that truly is apparent, those who can read between those lines, and be honest, it isn't hard to do, will find an incredibly detailed account--an insiders one at that--of life right in the thick of America's Space Race.
Gene has an ability, through his meticulous note-taking, to bring amazing details about some of the most dramatic moments in ALL of History (IMO). He was front ... Read More
Rating: - Get this Candle lighted
Excellent account of the backstage of America's Space Program, you could really fill the atmosphere inside Mission Control,and the contribution made to it's success by a miriad of unknown Hero's.
Rating: - I couldn't put it down...
I was given this as a gift.As a space program enthusiast I have read a lot.This one is not written by a historian, author, or journalist.It is a memoir of a person who was right there working it as it happened.Kranz was there from the beginning, and helped design how the training and rehearsing was done.
This is a must read if you want to get an insider's point of view of how history was made.It answered a lot of questions for me as to how NASA's magical team made the impossible ... Read More
- Kindle edition lacks photosThe acknowledgements chapter mentions photographs. But the Kindle edition omits them. (This is common for Kindle editions; the original Kindle was designed for text, not photos.)
The book is still a great insight into Mission Control, well worth reading in whatever edition you prefer.
- An amazing account of early space flightFirst, I will say do NOT read this book without also reading Flight: My Life In Mission Control by Chris Kraft. The two of these books go hand in hand and what one leaves out, the other fills in. Kranz focuses more on the technical side of the missions, and all the problems they encountered. His account of the Apollo 1 fire is haunting. Kraft on the other hand gives a lot more personal/personnel details. He tells you who was good to work with and who was not and why. This book was a VERY enjoyable ... Read More
- Incredibly fascinating reading--especially for fans of spaceflightSeveral have brought attention to Gene Kranz' ability (or lack thereof) to write with any major talent--and while that truly is apparent, those who can read between those lines, and be honest, it isn't hard to do, will find an incredibly detailed account--an insiders one at that--of life right in the thick of America's Space Race.
Gene has an ability, through his meticulous note-taking, to bring amazing details about some of the most dramatic moments in ALL of History (IMO). He was front ... Read More
- Get this Candle lightedExcellent account of the backstage of America's Space Program, you could really fill the atmosphere inside Mission Control,and the contribution made to it's success by a miriad of unknown Hero's.
- I couldn't put it down...I was given this as a gift.As a space program enthusiast I have read a lot.This one is not written by a historian, author, or journalist.It is a memoir of a person who was right there working it as it happened.Kranz was there from the beginning, and helped design how the training and rehearsing was done.
This is a must read if you want to get an insider's point of view of how history was made.It answered a lot of questions for me as to how NASA's magical team made the impossible ... Read More
