Failure is not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond

I highly recommend this book to all the poor men who already believe today that APOLLO is a whole fake
KRANZ tell the truth it is obvious when you read him

Failure is not an Option

The first time I heard this sentence is when I saw the movie Apollo 13 (Tom Hanks), when I was only 7 years old. I then read the book only when I was 11 years old. Gene Kranz is a great writer as well as a great Flight Director.

The book explains about everything from Mercury, through Gemini, to Apollo in great detail. The book taught me a lot of stuff that I did not know such as that Gemini 7 was before Gemini 6A. The book explains why did it happen and how. It will also explains what they were going to do about it.

The book has 21 pictures and 397 pages of knowledge. I recommend it for everybody

The book arrived within the scheduled delivery time in excellent condition.

Thank you,

Mark & Francine Keehnel

"Failure is Not An Option" is not a bad book, but it is not a great one either. Kranz provides certain insight into the role of NASA Flight Directors and the book is interesting to the extent it serves that function. However, Kranz occasionally gives major events fairly short shrift, while writing at length on an array of banal topics which are of limited interest. The reader is often left wanting greater details about events that shaped the space program and less information on subjects such as Kranz's management style or his trademark vests.

Moreover, Kranz's writing style is a little too compact and terse to make this book a consistently engaging read. Kranz uses the word "crisp" in seemingly every other paragraph. His writing style might be described in the same way. Unfortunately, it can make sections of "Failure Is Not An Option" a bit tedious at times.

Lastly, although a small point, Kranz makes no attempt to hide his political bent. The book is replete with praise for Kennedy and obvious (though unarticulated) disdain for Nixon. Kranz speaks with almost boy-like ardor of Kennedy's far-sightedness and vision for the space program despite the fact that many regard Kennedy's interest in space to have arisen solely out of a political desire to beat the Soviets - not for scientific or human advancement as Kranz would have the reader believe. At times, the political commentary proves irritating and distracting and Kranz's idolatry of Kennedy excessive and simplistic.

That said, this book is worth the read for the information it does impart and to supplement other texts on the space program, but it is not as gripping or engaging as "Lost Moon" or a host of others.

The book begins as Gene Kranz enters NASA in the early Mercury years. Back then, the U.S. space programs were disastrous (see "The Four Inch Flight"). Yet, through the sheer will of the determined individuals, the leadership from people such as Chris Kraft and George Low, and president Kennedy's challenge to go to the moon, NASA cut through its difficulties and finally surpasses the Soviet space program.

The author takes the reader through the 1960s and 70s, through the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions with details so vivid the reader feels that he/she is in the Mission Control room, wear headsets and working through every crisis, lament every failure, and celebrate every achievement.

Also, as NASA develops, the tenets of the Mission Control matures. Kranz defines the characteristcs of the controllers as Discipline, Competence, Confidence, Responsibility, Toughness, and Teamwork, with each mission as supporting evidence.

This is a great book, written first hand by a former flight director. I definitely recommend it for anyone who wants to learn about NASA's history or anyone who simply wants an exciting adventure book.