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Failure is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond by Gene Kranz
frostap's review against another edition
3.0
A slog. So much jargon!!!!!! Would have been better if I had legit interest in NASA.
waynediane's review against another edition
4.0
Very long and detailed history of NASA. Gene Kranz leaves nothing out. He gives a different view point than The Right Stuff. He explains in detail the beginning of the program before Kennedy with the Russians beating us up into space during the cold war. Kennedy's call to We go to the moon not because it is easy, but because it is hard. Maybe paraphrasing, the problems that were not discussed during many of the flights etc. While, I know it is difficult to cut somethings out some stories and dynamics of the players in mission control flight command could have been simplified.
jwave08's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
This was a really fantastic read. So inspirational and informative. I learned so much, so quickly. And I got an incredible insight on the lives of these incredible individuals. This should be a mandatory read. Let's go back to space :)
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fweijers's review against another edition
5.0
Top. Lots of details of life of the people behind mission control plus stuff like procedures and techniques
giavannapic's review against another edition
5.0
One of my absolute favorite book. I wrote a research paper using it as my main source & sent it to Gene Kranz & he responded (: He's an inspiration for me for sure.
mary_soon_lee's review against another edition
4.0
Written by Gene Kranz, one of the Apollo flight directors, this book covers the American space program from Mercury through the end of Apollo. It focuses on events from the perspective of the controllers, those staffing the consoles in Mission Control when Alan Shephard became the first American in space, or when Apollo 13 was in peril. It is somewhat detailed, somewhat dry, and it reflects the era it describes: in the first decade of the US space program, all the controllers and all the astronauts were male. Yet it is an extraordinary first-person account by a central figure in these historic events, an account that often had me on edge, even when I knew the outcome. I appreciated Kranz's honesty, including moments when he is critical of the astronauts, or open about his own frustrations. Throughout the book, his pride in the program and the men involved in it is clear. In the epilogue, he voices his disappointment that America didn't aggressively pursue space exploration after Apollo. Highly recommended.
chayes93's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0