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

by Gene Kranz (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 2,527 ratings
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This New York Times bestselling memoir of a veteran NASA flight director tells riveting stories from the early days of the Mercury program through Apollo 11 (the moon landing) and Apollo 13, for both of which Kranz was flight director.

Gene Kranz was present at the creation of America's manned space program and was a key player in it for three decades. As a flight director in NASA's Mission Control, Kranz witnessed firsthand the making of history. He participated in the space program from the early days of the Mercury program to the last Apollo mission, and beyond. He endured the disastrous first years when rockets blew up and the United States seemed to fall further behind the Soviet Union in the space race. He helped to launch Alan Shepard and John Glenn, then assumed the flight director's role in the Gemini program, which he guided to fruition. With his teammates, he accepted the challenge to carry out President John F. Kennedy's commitment to land a man on the Moon before the end of the 1960s.

Kranz recounts these thrilling historic events and offers new information about the famous flights. What appeared as nearly flawless missions to the Moon were, in fact, a series of hair-raising near misses. When the space technology failed, as it sometimes did, the controllers' only recourse was to rely on their skills and those of their teammates. He reveals behind-the-scenes details to demonstrate the leadership, discipline, trust, and teamwork that made the space program a success.

A fascinating firsthand account by a veteran mission controller of one of America's greatest achievements, Failure Is Not an Option reflects on what has happened to the space program and offers his own bold suggestions about what we ought to be doing in space now.

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  1. Print length
    416 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    23 June 2009
  4. Dimensions
    15.56 x 2.79 x 23.5 cm
  5. ISBN-10
    9781439148815
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1439148815
  7. See all details
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Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond
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Review

"A blow-by-blow account of heroic teams overcoming adversity...No matter how many times you read the story of the Apollo 11 landing, with computer alarms going off and only seconds of fuel left, it is a heartstopper. Here, Kranz recalls it vividly." -- Alex Roland, The Washington Post

"A rich, behind-the-scenes account of the experts who held the lives of America's first space explorers in their hands." -- Mark Carreau, Houston Chronicle

"An engaging behind-the-scenes memoir, a welcome contribution to the history of space flight." -- John Noble Wilford, The New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Eugene F. Kranz joined the NASA Space Task Group in 1960 and was Assistant Flight Director for Project Mercury (the original manned space missions). He continued as Flight Director for the Apollo 11 lunar landing. He is a co-recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work leading the Apollo 13 teams. Failure Is Not an Option is his first book. He lives with his family near Houston, Texas.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1439148813
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster; Illustrated edition (23 June 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781439148815
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1439148815
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.56 x 2.79 x 23.5 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 2,527 ratings

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Gene Kranz

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4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
2,527 global ratings

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Top reviews from Australia

Paul Ellis
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story
Reviewed in Australia on 31 March 2023
Verified Purchase
I've always thought of the Apollo missions as not just landing on the moon, but of how a nation and a bunch of people who when working together and for each other can achieve anything.
This is a great behind the scenes look at NASA, great learning experience for any organisation and team.
Once you get your head around some of the jargon and acronyms, an easy read.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating behind the scenes read
Reviewed in Australia on 19 January 2020
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This book illustrates some of the human faces behind the American space program, and the challenges that they faced
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Top reviews from other countries

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Daniel Gagné
5.0 out of 5 stars Recommandé
Reviewed in Canada on 2 January 2024
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Donne une excellente idée de la pressions et du stress que peut vivre la personne qui occupe ce poste.
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Julita
1.0 out of 5 stars Nie polecam
Reviewed in Poland on 7 June 2021
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Książka przyjechała zniszczona
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Domenico
5.0 out of 5 stars W il motto
Reviewed in Italy on 13 February 2021
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Testo solo in inglese. Ho fatto mio il titolo del libro che rivolgo e spiego alle allieve/i durante alcune mie lezioni per rafforzare i contenuti e dare fiducia e coraggio a chi si affaccia nel mondo del lavoro...
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Marcio
5.0 out of 5 stars Belíssimo livro para aqueles que se interessam pela história da corrida espacial
Reviewed in Brazil on 23 September 2019
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Gene Kranz conta sua experiência na Nasa, desde sua entrada na agência espacial americana, passando pelas missões Mercury e Gemini até a última missão Apollo. O mais legal é que, escrita por ele, um dos principais e um dos primeiros controladores de voo da Nasa, a história ganha detalhes pouco explorados na maioria dos livros e filmes sobre o assunto, onde os personagens principais costumam ser as missões e os astronautas. Gene Kranz conta a história de como tudo começou na Nasa: os problemas, as dificuldades, os imprevistos e as soluções pelo lado daqueles que não subiam nos foguetes, mas eram tão importantes como os astronautas para o sucesso de uma missão. Descobrimos que por trás da cara de bravo, Gene Kranz é um profissional muito competente, patriota e religioso. É um livro muito bacana. Merecia capa dura e tradução para o português. Recomendado para quem já tem prévio conhecimento da história da corrida espacial.
5 people found this helpful
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Marga
5.0 out of 5 stars Toll
Reviewed in Germany on 9 December 2020
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Das Buch wurde in einem Film erwähnt. Das Buch hat meine Erwartungen übertroffen.
Abgesehen davon, das es ein Stück Raumfahrtgeschicht erzählt und eine Fülle von Hintergrundinformationen und Einblicke in die Geschichte des Raumflug liefert, gibt es einen Einblick in die Führungsstruktur, das Leadership und das Teamwork das dahinter steckt. Die damaligen Stars (wir wollten damals alle Astronauten werden) treten in den Hintergrund. Man bekommt deutlich gezeigt wieviel Manpower nötig war (- und ist- ), um die paar Leute in den Weltraum zu befördern. Wie viele faszinierenden Persönlichkeiten mit genialen Ideen, Wissen, Können und Risikobereitschaft unter einen Hut gebracht werden mussten. Wie man mit (auch katastrophalen) Fehlern umgeht und daraus lernt. Was in Mission Control abgelaufen ist, wie optimiert und knapp im entscheidenden Moment die Kommunikation abläuft - Dinge die man damals im Fernsehen nicht vermittelt bekommen hat. (Astronaut? Mission Control! Das wäre mein Platz gewesen)
Das Buch vermittelt nicht trockene technische Fakten. Wer sich dafür interessiert ist hier nicht richtig.
Wer sich für die Geschichte hinter der Geschichte interessiert, findet hier ein spannendes Buch und wer sich für die Führung eines Unternehmens oder Kommunikation interessiert, für den gibt es Einblicke in den Führungsstil von Gene Kranz. Wie man Wissen und Können mit der geeigneten Führung zum Ziel führt - einfach faszinierend und bei bei meiner Arbeit sehr hilfreich.
Mir persönlich hat der Schreibstil von Gene Kranz zugesagt. Die Art, wie er die Dinge auf den Punkt bringt, gefällt mir. Die Erzählungen privater Ereignisse lockern das ganze nett auf. Trotz 400 Seiten war ich mit dem Buch superschnell durch. Damit ich immer wieder darauf Zugreifen kann, habe ich mir auch die Kindle Version gegönnt.

Die Bestellung und Lieferung bei Amazon perfekt wie immer.

Fazit: Einer meiner besten Käufe bisher - eigentlich würde ich gerne 10 Sterne vergeben.
4 people found this helpful
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