Share <Embed>

Buy New

$14.88

List Price: $18.00
Save: $3.12 (17%)

In Stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

This item ships to France. Want it Friday, April 6? Order within and choose AmazonGlobal Priority Shipping at checkout. Learn more

Select delivery location

Buy Used

$10.79

FREE Shipping on orders over $25.

Select delivery location

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by A2ZOnline

Fulfilled by Amazon

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Added to

Unable to add item to List. Please try again.

Other Sellers on Amazon

Add to Cart

$10.47
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: SharP.Books

Add to Cart

$10.50
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: allnewbooks

Add to Cart

$14.50
& FREE Shipping on eligible orders. Details

Sold by: Joshua Creek Services

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 3 images

Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond Paperback – June 23, 2009

by Gene Kranz (Author)

365 customer reviews

See all 19 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$14.94

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

—

$54.38

$4.00

Paperback

"Please retry"

$14.88

$10.47

$5.00

Audible, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

MP3 CD, Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$32.41

$25.89

$21.95

Frequently bought together

Total price: $40.65

Buy the selected items together

This item:Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond by Gene Kranz Paperback $14.88
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
Apollo 13 by James Lovell Paperback $9.27
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon by Jeffrey Kluger Hardcover $16.50
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

James Lovell

204

Paperback
$9.27
Ben R. Rich

475

Paperback
$12.39
Andrew Chaikin

191

Paperback
$19.58
Michael Collins

155

Paperback
$7.76
Jeffrey Kluger

232

Hardcover
$16.50
Clarence L. "Kelly"…

101

Paperback
$17.56

Special offers and product promotions

Editorial Reviews

Paperback. 16th printing. LIftoff bookplate attached inside front cover. See image. Covers of book are scratches. Upper front corner is bent.

Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (June 23, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1439148813
ISBN-13: 978-1439148815
Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 365 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,628 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #18 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Aerospace > Astronautics & Space Flight
- #21 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Reference > History
- #26 in Books > Science & Math > Technology > History of Technology

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Customer Reviews

Write a customer review

See all 365 customer reviews

Rated by customers interested in

What's this?

Space Exploration

4.9 out of 5 stars

Engineering & Transportation Books

4.7 out of 5 stars

Historical Memoirs

4.4 out of 5 stars

Is this feature helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Read reviews that mention

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Eugene F. Kranz

Great book

April 23, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I wrote the book... it is the story of NASA's many finest hours as viewed from Mission Control .

Comment 20 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Jerry V

A Great "Behind The Curtains" look at what it took to get the US Space Program Off The Ground!

August 29, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Gene Kranz is HILARIOUS!!! His telling of the early Space Program, and the people involved is VERY informative and shows hot just what was shown to the public at the time, but a excellent 'Behind the Curtain' of what it took to get off the ground with NASA!

I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone that wants to know the Space Program in the United States went from President Kennedy's promise, to KEEPING that promise!!

Comment 4 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

2wheelz

The incredible inside story of mankind's greatest achievement

April 30, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

As an airline pilot I have always had more than a casual interest in the US space program. Gene Kranz tells an amazing story of what is probably mankind's greatest accomplishment. A true leader, visionary and team player, Kranz takes you inside mission control and provides a front row seat to the 1960's space race. The "crew concept" so widely trained in commercial aviation today has its roots in our early space program. These incredible people didn't have a book to go by, so instead they wrote the book on space flight. Kranz does a good job of highlighting the risk/reward relationship of every decision. Despite already knowing the outcome of every mission, the story of each flight is gripping. I was surprised at just how many very close calls there were. These were truly brave people (and not just the astronauts) who came to work every day pushing the limits of man and our technology.

More than just a historical chronology of each mission, Kranz does a respectable job of bringing out the human element and the many personalities involved, each of whom played a critical role in making key decisions. You really get an appreciation of the high stakes involved. Risk management is the name of the game and the stress never abates. Every aspect of every mission was clearly a team effort and compromises were necessary at every level. It was a special time and these were special people.

Sadly, the book highlights just how far we have fallen as a nation of pioneers. Kranz observes that the 1960's opened with JFK's bold and visionary assertion that America was going to the moon and only a decade later Richard Nixon effectively gives the Apollo program it's obituary with a "thanks" to the astronauts who would likely be the last to walk on the moon that century. By 1973 the public was already becoming disinterested with space so the money, and the will, dried up. Gene Kranz does a convincing job of explaining the intangible benefits of leading the world in exploration and pushing into the universe beyond. I believe if more people read Failure is Not an Option, there would be a renewed interest in returning to space.

As a side note, there are a lot of acronyms in the book, which is normal everyday fare in aviation, but for the uninitiated it can be a bit daunting. There is a handy appendix provided that will help you keep it all straight. You may not realize that it is there until you've finished the book, especially if you have the Kindle version.

Comment 4 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Hae-Yu

Essential Reading

October 18, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

When it comes to the space program, most books focus on the astronauts, but the readers do themselves an incredible injustice by skipping the other 95% of the action. This book covers those heroes. I had always thought of Mission Control as similar to Air Traffic Controllers. If the tower isn't open, planes can still land on their own with a specific set of procedures. But Mission Control is just that - they are as integral to the mission as the astronauts and the rockets - every one of them.

For every action of the astronauts - from docking, to EVAs, to even taking a poop, there was someone on the ground whose job it was to worry about that specific aspect of it and how it impacted every other part of the mission. These amazing specialist controllers worked and trained with the primary and the backup astronaut crews to develop the specific procedures for performing every action (potential and planned) the whole team might foreseeably encounter. When it came time to perform those actions, the makeup of the shift of controllers would be the specialists in those areas. So when the action changed from launch to docking rendezvous, the controller shift changed, too.

The Apollo 14 mission is one great example. Paraphrasing a chapter, one of the controllers had detected a problem with the ABORT switch. After a quick conference with other specialists, they called a backroom of other experts who was there to specifically back him up. Behind that back room of specialists was a software team from MIT on the line waiting just in case. While the astronauts were preparing and proceeding with their lunar descent, the MIT team had written a software patch, the back room team had tested it with the backup astronaut crew in the SIM and then transmitted to the crew. Without their efforts, the landing would have been scrubbed.

As another example, every time the launch was put on hold, there was a trajectory controller who performed the calculations for the new trajectory and upload it to the computers. You have to think, every minute or so means a new trajectory!

The Apollo 13 movie only hints at the immense pressure these guys were under. No rocket was perfect and every mission required troubleshooting (and fixing) one set of problems after another. Live. Thanks to Gene for giving these guys their due.

Another book that I think of as essential is Deke Slayton's book, "Deke!" This bridges the gap between astronauts and admin and how many of the decisions were made (such as who was first in space or on the moon).

Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Most recent customer reviews

Décio Moreira

Very good book about NASA

It is a very good book .

Published 1 day ago

Amazon Customer

this book was a fantastic read. If you are interested in spaceflight or ...

Gene Kranz is such an incredible person, this book was a fantastic read. If you are interested in spaceflight or the Apollo Program at all, I highly recommend this book!

Published 3 days ago

Amazon Customer

A great book.

This was a great book. A very interesting insight into the early American space program from the prospective of Mission Control.

Published 25 days ago

R.S. Hill

Exciting, informative and wonderful book

Mr Kranz offers an insiders view of some of the most famous events of human space travel. Having known of Mr.Read more

Published 1 month ago

Jehsua

Five Stars

So good

Published 1 month ago

Amazon Customer

Four Stars

I learned a lot about the behind-the-scenes work those dedicated mission controllers did. What a time in history!

Published 1 month ago

Scott Hodges

If you liked the movie Apollo 13

Good overall read and insight to the beginngs of manned space flight. Drags towards tne end as the flights become more routine.

Published 1 month ago

William Conrad

An excellent book

Gene Kranz did a fantastic job of putting the reader right in the forefront of mission control. He gave a firsthand account what it was like to lead the best team in the world.Read more

Published 2 months ago

rick

Great Perspective

An awesome accounting of the early US space program from Mission Control's perspective - a much different view than that of astronauts or senior management.Read more

Published 2 months ago

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway

This item: Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond

Set up a giveaway

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

James Lovell

204

Paperback
$9.27
Ben R. Rich

475

Paperback
$12.39
Andrew Chaikin

191

Paperback
$19.58
Jeffrey Kluger

232

Hardcover
$16.50
James Lovell

204

Hardcover
$48.00
Michael Collins

155

Paperback
$7.76

Pages with related products. See and discover other items: history of physics, not books, retro future, auto technology, the first americans, aeronautics control systems

Buy New

$14.88

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Buy Used

$10.79

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Other Sellers on Amazon

Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond Paperback – June 23, 2009

Frequently bought together

Customers who bought this item also bought

Sponsored products related to this item (What's this?)

Special offers and product promotions

Editorial Reviews

Product details

Sponsored products related to this item (What's this?)

Customer Reviews

Read reviews that mention

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Most recent customer reviews

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Buy New $14.88

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Buy Used $10.79

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Sorry, there was a problem.

Sorry, there was a problem.

Other Sellers on Amazon

Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond Paperback – June 23, 2009

Frequently bought together

Customers who bought this item also bought

Sponsored products related to this item (What's this?)

Special offers and product promotions

Editorial Reviews

Product details

Sponsored products related to this item (What's this?)

Customer Reviews

Read reviews that mention

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Most recent customer reviews

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Buy New

$14.88

Buy Used

$10.79