Customer Reviews
A Guideline for Space Buffs
This book is much more than just another volume about the Apollo era. Written by famous former flight director Gene Kranz himself, it provides a very detailed and personal look into the world of mission operations from the early days of manned spaceflight to the end of the Apollo program. Besides being very interesting and thrilling it's also full of funny anecdotes. But moreover, "Failure Is Not an Option" is a story about the virtues that have to be developed in order to reach goals and make dreams come true. Tough and competent, discipline and morale are like the central thread in this story which is, in a sense, about an unfinished work. It is a story about teamwork as well, and while Gene Kranz is giving this wonderful account of his work and life at NASA's Flight Control Division he is introducing to us many of his former teammates in the attempt to send men to the moon and return them to earth safely. He credits people most of the readers probably never heard of before, but who still deserve to get mentioned more often. And, of course, not to forget: he also writes about his great wife who had the idea of the now famous mission vests.
Gene's absolute dedication shines throughout all the pages of his book as well as his absolute honesty - especially when mentioning other person's greatness and at the same time talking about his own faults. This is sure not the biography of some egocentric person who only sees his own accomplishments. Rather this book is a guideline for all the space buffs out there. The work is still unfinished and the author leaves it up to all us readers to learn the lessons and then do our share of the job. This precious book gives us the means to do so. So, if there is anything negative to say about the book, it's only that it's too short.
Thank you Gene for giving us this opportunity to learn from you!
A extraordinary stroy
For a large part of the sixties and seventies NASA mission control was the centre of world attention. The most famous missions were, of course, the Apollo ones but many others happened too.
Much has been written, mostly by outsiders, about these days but this is probably the most important book written by a senior (non-political) insider.
As has been observed elsewhere, the writing style does leave a little to be desired at times but it doesn't matter. It's not what Gene Kranz will be remembered for. His contribution to the space race was incomparable and it is good to see how he looks back on those days. Of particular interest are his opinions on the mistakes made and the lessons learned. NASA isn't Hollywood and real lives and international political relations depended upon his decisions. It is a tribute to his ability that he was able to remain in the (ground based) driving seat all through the Apollo years.
An excellent book, worth every cent.
Must read after reading all the astronauts' books.
Gene Kranz's book tells a similar story, as told in books by Eugene Cerman, Scott Carpenter, and Chris Kraft, without being dominated by the author's ego. The others wrote good books. But Kranz avoids using personal attacks to tell his tale. The antidotes differ from those in other stories, as Kranz does not have a Boy Scout image to preserve. However, Kranz covers mission control only through Apollo 17.
This book is an excellent story of the space race from the ground.
