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128 reviews for:
Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond
Gene Kranz
4.24 AVERAGE
128 reviews for:
Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond
Gene Kranz
4.24 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
I was wondering about the people behind the Apollo Moon missions ever since I build my Lego Saturn V rocket last year. Gene narrates his own biography in this audible edition. The story is a bit dry and goes into a lot of "work" stuff. But that's what I signed up for.
It's cool to hear about this amazing feat of mankind from one of the people who helped make it happen.
Now I just want to hear of the people who actually build the rockets!
It's cool to hear about this amazing feat of mankind from one of the people who helped make it happen.
Now I just want to hear of the people who actually build the rockets!
informative
slow-paced
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I really enjoyed this book, despite me not being as interested in the technical side of things as in the human aspect. I was most interested in reading about the Apollo project, mostly 11 and 13 of course. Apollo 13 is one of my favorite movies and I wanted to know the real story beyond the Hollywood dramatization. I did find Mercury and Gemini interesting, the more I read about them, but was most eager of course for Apollo. Kranz tells his story well, and I also was interested in his own life and upbringing, which he recounts for us as well. I was concerned there would be too much focus on the technical aspects of the space program, but was pleasantly surprised to find that this was not the case. Kranz tells his stories with the right mix of human and technical elements. Highly recommended, I can only hope that Kranz's suggestions will not fall on deaf ears forever and that our once-great space program can be revived and grow to what it was.
I really enjoyed this book, despite me not being as interested in the technical side of things as in the human aspect. I was most interested in reading about the Apollo project, mostly 11 and 13 of course. Apollo 13 is one of my favorite movies and I wanted to know the real story beyond the Hollywood dramatization. I did find Mercury and Gemini interesting, the more I read about them, but was most eager of course for Apollo. Kranz tells his story well, and I also was interested in his own life and upbringing, which he recounts for us as well. I was concerned there would be too much focus on the technical aspects of the space program, but was pleasantly surprised to find that this was not the case. Kranz tells his stories with the right mix of human and technical elements. Highly recommended, I can only hope that Kranz's suggestions will not fall on deaf ears forever and that our once-great space program can be revived and grow to what it was.
Too technical. Gave up halfway through the book as I found other histories of the Space Race that were more enjoyable to read.
3.5 rounding up. Parts were gripping and moving. Overall it amounted to toooooo many step by step accounts about a list of missions.
If you have even the slightest interest in America's space program (even a passing interest in a specific mission or set of missions), then you need to read this book. Gene Kranz was front and center for the birth of the space program, and stuck around to witness and be a part of history. His passion for space, and for what America was trying to achieve, comes through clearly in every word. This book made me laugh, cry, feel the tension of Mission Control and the relief when disaster was averted.
You'll come out of the book wanting so much more for our current space program (the book was published in 2000, and many of Kranz's admonitions are still relevant today), and feeling pride for everything the founders of NASA accomplished. This is the kind of book that needs to be taught in schools, because at 31 years old I'm slightly ashamed that I didn't know even the broad strokes of a lot of this, and it was such an important time in America's history.
Beyond all that, it's just an incredibly good story. Kranz is a natural storyteller, flawlessly capturing the emotions, the in-the-moment stresses, and the joys of navigating space. It's one of the best autobiographies I've ever read.
You'll come out of the book wanting so much more for our current space program (the book was published in 2000, and many of Kranz's admonitions are still relevant today), and feeling pride for everything the founders of NASA accomplished. This is the kind of book that needs to be taught in schools, because at 31 years old I'm slightly ashamed that I didn't know even the broad strokes of a lot of this, and it was such an important time in America's history.
Beyond all that, it's just an incredibly good story. Kranz is a natural storyteller, flawlessly capturing the emotions, the in-the-moment stresses, and the joys of navigating space. It's one of the best autobiographies I've ever read.
Although the writing style frequently leaves something to be desired, this was a fascinating look at Mission Control during the golden era of space flight. I especially appreciated the overarching view of how we got to where we are.