Customer Reviews

Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond

5 star:		(80)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Gene Kranz was a flight director for most of the U.S. manned space program, and was on duty for some of the most critical events - including the first moon landing, and, of course the Apollo 13 accident.

In "Failure Is Not an Option," Kranz tells the story of Mission Control from the begining (he wrote some of the intial procedures manuals) through the Space Shuttle program. He shows how the ground controllers developed into a team, not only with each other, but with the astronauts on board the spacecraft.

Kranz may not be the most polished writer, but this is a first-person account from someone who helped make history. One of the things I really liked about the book is that Kranz not only took detailed notes during the missions (that was his first flight assignment), but he held on to them and used them to provide a more detailed account than I have seen before of the key missions from the perspective of Mission Control. He doesn't pull punches, and he's not afraid to admit mistakes, and this gives this book an air of honesty that you don't always find in an autobiography.

Gene Kranz provides the reader with a remarkably vivid account of what it is like to be behind the scenes of Mission Control. From the initial procedures he wrote for the Mercury program, to the clipped voices of controllers working a spacecraft contingency to the sometimes abandoned way they let off steam off-console, Mr. Kranz brings you an accurate and very readable account of the MCC. From my own experiences of 20 years in the MCC, this book provides a very personal glimpse in how we continue to work. For the reader who remembers growing up with the highs and lows of the space race, this book will rekindle all the emotions of the time and fill in many of the blanks that can only come from an insider such as Mr. Kranz. "Failure Is Not An Option" should be required reading for any one currently working at the MCC, and for anyone wanting to learn more about what it took to put a man on the moon.

In "Failure Is Not An Option", Kranz tells it like it was. This is a very accurate description of life as a flight controller from 1960 until the end of the Apollo program. The characters are real and the circumstances they lived in are accurately portrayed in a manner that is interesting and provoking. I know because I was there.

Sim Sup

Thanks to "Apollo13", Gene Kranz's name has become known to new generations, as well as those whose memories of the moon landings had faded. Even so, few knew much about the man who played a key role in the whole of America's space programme, from its first (sometines desperate) attempts to keep up with Russia's lead, until the Shuttle took on Kennedy's torch into space.

This book provides a clear insight into the space programme itself, but (unlike other books on the subject) it gives the reader a rare glimpse of the inner thoughts, fears, and patriotism of the man who was only 35 when he led the team of controllers which actually guided the Apollo missions to their objectives (and got them home when things went wrong).

Kranz is open about his strong religious convictions, his patriotism for his homeland, and his absolute belief in what he was doing. His commitment to the men with whom he worked comes across strongly, "men" who themselves were in the main only just out of college. In many ways, this might be expected, from a former fighter pilot, and a man whose crewcut hair style scared off the boys chasing his daughters. What is unexpected, is the raw emotion that the experiences which he went through generated in him. Kranz is honest throughout each chapter of this entralling book.

He writes as both a team player, and a team leader. Reading the book clearly shows why he is in demand at conferences to speak and pass on some of his proven ideas about clear leadership and vision.

I confess to being both a space buff, and a fan of Gene Kranz. Nervertheless, I can strongly recommend the book which serves not only as another historic record of those exciting times, but also as being a book which, for once, shows in a meaningful way how something can be achieved, if the team want it badly enough.

The fact that Apollo 13 did not appear in the book until page 306 of 380 pages put a great deal of NASA and their missions in perspective for me.

Apollo 13 is well known by those who remember, and a generation that learned about it through the movie, and great books like, Tom Lovell's "Lost Moon". I hope as many people know about the tragedy of Apollo 1, and The Challenger is still rather fresh in the public's mind.

Apollo 13 was an incredible accomplishment by all involved, and the 3 men who persevered to make it back are nothing short of remarkable. Those on the ground took everything so personally, but the crew actually had to live through it. However the book puts this mission into perspective by taking the reader through the Mercury and Gemini programs as well.

Alan Shepard was the first to climb on a rocket that had a bad habit of exploding. I don't know what the "Right Stuff" actually is, but he had to made from it. And the Mercury Astronauts that followed all had experiences that were way up on the terror scale for non-astronauts/test pilots. That is one of the most eye opening parts of this book, every mission was so new, that the majority had problems that were potentially fatal.

You will read about the first moon landing, I never knew what happened on that one. Manned mission hit by lightening, a mission coming back with engines still on because who knew if the heat shield was still there. Every mission is just incredible from the complexity, and despite this, the rate of success.

I especially admired the manner that Mr. Kranz discussed the blown hatch on Gus Grissom's flight. The movie did a grave injustice to a man who subsequently died doing his job. The factual stories are incredible, taking liberties with what happened for dramatic effect are not necessary, and, in this case cruel.

The way the Mission Control people worked together, trusted one another, and took responsibility for their actions, is better than any management book I have ever read. The young age and the responsibilty that people in their 20's had was remarkable.

Mr. Kranz and all those like him are role models; their integrity and personal commitment were total. They gave this Country over a decade, a type of pride that was unique, and they did it with a special kind of class.

Long before the politicians got around to it this group was ahead of the human relations curve. The final Lunar Landing included a gesture that could only be made by the USA, as we were the only Country to plant 6 flags there, and had the selflessness to pay tribute to a group that you will have to read the book to learn about. I don't believe many Countries would have done it, and I suppose it really was not a Country, as much as the men and women acknowledging what is and what is not important.

An exceptional memoir!

I wish I hadn't been so profligate with handing out five stars in the past, because by comparison I wish I could give this book six.

There have been many books written about the moon landings. Most focus of course on the astronauts, with a few notable exceptions: Angle of Attack about North American Aviation and the building of the command module and Chariots for Apollo about Grumman's development of the lunar module, to name two of the best. But it took a ground controller to finally write about ground control.

It's a grave injustice. It's clear from these pages that the ground controllers were critical to the success of the moon landings and were among the most dedicated and hardest-working of all those involved with the space program. And that is no small compliment.

Gene Kranz is an almost legendary figure among these, in part due to Ed Harris's masterful portrayal of him in the movie Apollo 13. Here he gets the chance to tell his point of view. He covers his entire career-in fact, his entire life, at least in brief-and it's quite a read. He came on board the space program in the earliest days of Mercury and didn't retire until well after the moon landings.

We get to read about those early, tentative days, when some of the most brilliant technical minds in America came together and tried to figure out how the heck to get men into space. Initially getting a ride to the control center with astronaut Gordon Cooper, Kranz starts out with the responsibility for writing procedures for things that have never been done before. He quickly moves up the chain of responsibility and becomes a flight director in time for the Gemini missions. He covers each mission he's involved with in detail from his unique point-of-view, and continues this approach through Apollo.

One of the reasons I want to give this book six stars is that it's an absolute page-turner, and I can't remember the last time I read a nonfiction book that I couldn't put down. I sat up several nights into the wee hours, just wanting to read a little bit more to see his take on Gemini 8 (when David Scott and Neil Armstrong almost spun out of control due to a stuck thruster), Apollo 11, or Apollo 13. Even though I've read about all of these missions many, many times, it was utterly gripping to hear about them from his perspective.

If I were to hold anything against this book, it would be that it's clearly written by Kranz himself and not a ghost-writer. The writing is often unpolished and occasionally confusing. Still, it doesn't seem to slow the book down (see about the page-turning above), and it gives it a straightforwardness and a sometimes brutal honesty that's lacking in many more polished efforts. In particular, Kranz's account of the Apollo 1 fire and its devastating effect on all those who felt themselves in some way responsible is the most powerful recounting I've experienced, and that includes the superb dramatization in the HBO/Tom Hanks miniseries, From the Earth to the Moon.

He concludes the book with an impassioned plea to revitalize the American space program and recapture the spirit of the sixties, an era when, for all its troubles, anything seemed possible. As he puts it, "We have become a nation of spectators, unwilling to take risks or act on strong beliefs." It's hard to disagree with that. And I think it's worth noting that one of the seldom-stated successes of America's space program was that it gave Gene Kranz and those who worked with him a chance to demonstrate their greatness.

If you have any interest in the space program at all, you MUST read this book.

I have read a number of the "Moon" books. As for the actual writing style, I put it in the "middle" category, this book is unique in its perspective, as it focusses on the MCC Mission Control Center and the flight controllers, instead of the astronauts and the moon.

Kranz thankfully spares us long anecdotes about his upbringing or his personal life. Whether this is to keep it personal, or because he thinks we arent' interested, I don't know, but I appreciate it. A book like this, I don't want to be bogged down in background info.

Kranz was one of the very first controllers, brought in under Chris Kraft from day one. He worked in the control room from Mercury, Gemini, and the Apollo program. When he tells the stories of these missions, it's not all about the astronauts, or even necessarily about the mission. It's often about the problems they encountered, and how they solved them. This perspective is unique in the "moon books". It is most interesting in the Apollo 13 crisis, but also Apollo 1, John Glenn's Mercury mission, and even "routine" missions (is sending a human hurtling into outer space ever routine?) have glitches that he explains how they solve. It's engaging reading, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

By far the best coverage and most comprehensive analysis is of the solving of the Apollo 13 crisis. The title, Failure is Not an Option, was an apocryphal attribution to Kranz, but it is one that he still titles his book with, as it sums up his view of life in MCC. You will also get a better feel about the "behind the scenes" workings at NASA, and in the end, he gives his views how to revitalize that interest and get to Mars, and beyond.

Using his extensive files (over 7 file cabinets) and numerous sources, Gene Kranz reviews each launch and narrates his participation in the space program from Mercury through Apollo. An amazing amount of detail is given for the numerous difficulties that were encountered in each phase of the space program. The recognition of problems, troubleshooting them and quick resolution is the driving force in this text. Readers remember Apollo 13's fuel cell crisis and the excellent job done by both Mission Control and the crew to safely return the space craft home. However, while not as dramatic as Apollo 13's potential for astronauts being lost in space, several other incidents that could have resulted in tragedy are detailed along with the actions taken to overcome each difficulty.

The text is an account of Gene Kranz's career from procedure writer to Flight Director and details the history of the development of NASA's Mission Control organization. There being no previous experience, the book outlines how the Mission Control organization was developed from scratch. The text illustrates that in space, team work and training was mandatory to be able to evaluate a problem and initiate action often within 60 seconds. This required a high degree of commitment and competence for all persons involved.

Kranz's accounts of training through simulation is fascinating. Malfunctions were programmed into the training without prior knowledge of the persons in the training session. In one case the simulated collapse of the mission doctor was so real that after the training session others had to be told the doctor was fine. Such detailed and stressful training and the actual mission performance required a detailed knowledge of systems by each person for their area of responsibility plus knowledge of adjoining areas. This training frequently revealed problems where such knowledge later paid off in successful missions.

The author briefly outlines the background of each person as they appeared in the narration. They were basically a mix of young engineers and aviators some having test pilot experience. All parties had to live by a time line whether it was during planning, training, launch, flight or recovery. The text clearly states that participation in the space program demanded discipline, commitment and risk. Some readers may criticize Gene Kranz for his strict military attitude, discipline and unwavering commitment but the question must be asked what other alternatives would have worked in situations where decisions had to be made in seconds for malfunctions involving life and death? I am reminded of the old saying "A camel is a race horse designed by a committee." As the author clearly illustrates, in space there was no margin for error or time for debate.

Also covered are several non-flight activities such as upper management, debriefings and press conferences. Each debriefing was critical to the success of the next mission especially if critical malfunctions had to be addressed. The text states that the space program was covered by a dedicated, well-informed, and highly professional press corps who "....knew the difference between objective reporting of news and hyping things up to entertain the audience...." Kranz notes that "The press conference was almost as much of an ordeal as the mission" and further states "They asked the tough questions, but they respected us and the work we did as long as we didn't try to mislead them."

Flight directors worked rotating shifts. Gene Kranz was a flight director for Apollo 11 during the actual first lunar landing and later led the team that developed the program to recover Apollo 13 after it suffered the fuel cell explosion. The text gives much interesting information about both flights. The last moon landing was Apollo 17 where once again Kranz was a flight director.

The book concludes with the usual chapter Where They Are giving an update of the history for the major players.

The book provides a tremendous amount of information. Readability may be a minor weakness of this work, but a most helpful appendix Glossary of Terms defines the many acronyms used in the text and helps the reader to move ahead. While not difficult to read, at times it is slow reading unless the reader is just skimming.

While some may take issue with Gene Kranz's stern, disciplined, military approach to the challenges faced, the results confirm the effectiveness of this approach to life and death situations where decisions must be made in seconds and there is no turning back once a decision was made.

A must read for those interested in a time when the United States successfully met a major challenge.

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!

Failure is not an option is not for your average folk. I seriously doubt that the average person on the street could make it from beginning to end. However, if you are a space-nut, or just are really yearning for the good 'ole days of Apollo, then you can't go wrong with this book. I've read just about every book every written on the Apollo program, and while the astronauts' books are much more interesting than Gene Kranz's, "Failure is not an option" will not disappoint. Mr. Kranz allows us into a very private part of the space program. Most people know the stories of the astronauts because we've been allowed, through a free society, to witness every step they have taken. However, there were never very many stories told about Mission Control during that era. After you finish this book, you'll start to realize that the astronauts had it easy! Most of the more mundane details are left out of his book, but Mr. Krantz slows things down during the first lunar landing, describing every detail he could remember. The entire book is extremely exciting and you won't believe the career of Gene when you are done. He was definitely at the right place at the right time to have one of the most spectacular careers possible. I bet he looks back now-a-days and wishes things had happened a bit more slowly for him to appreciate it more. He did so much in such a little time. This book is a must-have for any space-enthusiast, but will probably get a bit slow for anyone else. Thank you Gene! Now, when is Chris Kraft's book coming out?