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)

Amazing

The growth of NASA and Gene Kranz's jobs in NASA are essentially linked. Joining a fledgling organization, he grew with the organization through thick and thin. Seeing opinions and fears grow and waiver this was a great Biography of Gene Kranz, and of NASA as a whole from the perspective of a single person. I personally this is a great book that needs to be in any technology/science/history buffs library.

Awesome and inspiring story.

An awesome and inspiring story that will invigorate anyone interested in science technology or the human desire to explore.

Great book, but the narrator was so-so

I loved the book itself, but the narrator's performance was a bit too flat for the exciting or emotional parts of the story.

Good history of the space race

well done in brought back a lot of memories from the '60s. I remember watching many of those launches and being glued to the TV for the moon landing and through Apollo 13

Beautifully and motivating history of NASA

The achievements of NASA's past inspiring us to a heave a more epic future. Makes me wonder what we as a nation could do that would continue on the ideas and efforts of the space race. maybe not in space, but somewhere.

Great story of space flight from the man who was there

Great story from man @front row of space story, will please most listeners, especially 4 boomers

Captivating! Could not stop listening!

If you love space exploration, not just the highlight reels, this is the book for you. It’s an in depth look at what went into the exploration of space from the other side of the coin. You come to a glaring realization that without these brilliant and committed men and women there is no way we could have made it to the moon... or off the ground!

A true American hero!

Spellbinding!
I work in the space program and was inspired by Mr. Kranz'story to re-energize my own work.
It would have been better if he had read the narration. I have had the privilege of seeing him speak. His descriptions of the events are nothing short of artistic as well as technically articulate. He holds audiences breathless!

Thank you for sharing your story

Excellent history of the US space program from Gene Krantz personal experiences!!!
The narration was wonderful!!!

I recommend it.

This book is a great, personal account of the space program. I've always been fascinated by the story of Apollo 13 since watching documentaries as a kid. Listening to this book I realized that while it was a critical event, it was only the tip of the iceberg. There is a lot of backstory underneath the surface.
I also felt that the narrator's style caught the balance of emotion and straightforwardness presented in the author's style.
This was money well spent.