Failure Is Not an Option

Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond

By: Gene Kranz

Narrated by: Danny Campbell

Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

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 was flight director for both Apollo 11, the mission in which Neil Armstrong fulfilled President Kennedy's pledge, and Apollo 13. He headed the Tiger Team that had to figure out how to bring the three Apollo 13 astronauts safely back to Earth. (In the film Apollo 13, Kranz was played by the actor Ed Harris, who earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance.)

In Failure Is Not an Option, Gene 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. Kranz takes us inside Mission Control and introduces us to some of the whiz kids - still in their twenties, only a few years out of college - who had to figure it all out as they went along, creating a great and daring enterprise. He reveals behind-the-scenes details to demonstrate the leadership, discipline, trust, and teamwork that made the space program a success.

©2009 Gene Kranz (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Plenty of books (and several films) have already tried to depict the space program's excitement; few of their creators had the first-person experience or the attention to detail Krantz has, whose role as flight control "White" his readers will admire or even wish to emulate." ( Publishers Weekly)

Very detailed!

It’s a long but detailed listen. Incredible detail and stories of the Apollo era. Great perspective!

Awesome book, performance has some issues

This is a fantastic book. The biggest flaw is the narrator repeatedly mispronounces some things that are quite distracting. For instance, the Guidance controller is called Guido. The narrator kept saying "Gwee-do", not "Guy-doe". There are a few other mispronunciations but this one term is so pervasive as to be aggravating. I realize that it's a rather pedantic gripe, but it breaks the sensation that Gene Kranz is telling the story, if that makes sense. Beyond that, this is one of my favorites.

A must have for any fan of man's journey to the mo

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes I would. I enjoyed learning about the space program from someone in the trenches, not a textbook.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Failure Is Not an Option?

Mr. Kranz's account of Apollo 1 & 13. Also his epilogue

What about Danny Campbell’s performance did you like?

Great voice and delivery. told the story well.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Too many to mention here

Any additional comments?

If you ever wanted to know what truly happened in mission control through Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, the good the bad and the ugly, get this book.

Great story of a historical program

I worked for 2 years as a Flight Control Engineer on the Shuttle program in the late 70's. I knew and revered Gene Kranz and Jim Hannigan and many other folks mentioned in this great, deep historical yarn. Sadly the book ends at the end of Apollo, but the detail of the book fills in all those memories I had of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo.

you will love this book

it is a story of accomplishment, daring and vision. Things severly lacking in todays National will!

The real deal

No Hollywood here. Just the facts as seen from the trench - so to speak.
Long on detail but riveting.
I enjoyed it immensely. Apollo 13 chapter really highlighted the problems those three brave men faced.
The overall cool professionalism of the astronauts is amazing!
Thank you 'Flight'!

Wonderful insight into the space program.

Demonstrates the leadership, discipline, trust, and teamwork that made the space program a success. My lifelong interest in spacecraft and rockets were completely satisfied.

Fantastic Story of US Spaceflight

I highly recommend. Comprehensive, gripping and personal look at the US Gemini and Apollo missions.

A great story!

If you grew up in the space age, you'll love this story. I was not aware of all the technical problems overcome on each Apollo mission. Highly recommend this.

Captivating Real Story

The autobiography of the Nasa Mission Control flight controller Gene Kranz who was at the helm throughout the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space missions, including the Apollo 11 moon landing and the Apollo 13 disaster and rescue. He tells the story of the U.S. space program at its infancy through every space mission and details the trials of each mission. A captivating story.

Listened again immediately...

Great inside view of the early U.S. Space program concluding with a "let's get off our rears and get on to the next great thing in space" admonition at the end. A wonderful listen in all aspects.