Rating: 
Summary: Long Read, but Worth It
Review: 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?
Rating:
Summary: A extraordinary stroy
Review: For a large part of the sixties and seventies NASA mission control was the centre of world attention. The most famous missions were, of course, the Apollo ones but many others happened too.Much has been written, mostly by outsiders, about these days but this is probably the most important book written by a senior (non-political) insider. As has been observed elsewhere, the writing style does leave a little to be desired at times but it doesn't matter. It's not what Gene Kranz will be remembered for. His contribution to the space race was incomparable and it is good to see how he looks back on those days. Of particular interest are his opinions on the mistakes made and the lessons learned. NASA isn't Hollywood and real lives and international political relations depended upon his decisions. It is a tribute to his ability that he was able to remain in the (ground based) driving seat all through the Apollo years. An excellent book, worth every cent.
Rating:
Summary: Must read after reading all the astronauts' books.
Review: Gene Kranz's book tells a similar story, as told in books by Eugene Cerman, Scott Carpenter, and Chris Kraft, without being dominated by the author's ego. The others wrote good books. But Kranz avoids using personal attacks to tell his tale. The antidotes differ from those in other stories, as Kranz does not have a Boy Scout image to preserve. However, Kranz covers mission control only through Apollo 17. This book is an excellent story of the space race from the ground.
Rating: 
Summary: Unique perspective
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Mercury to Apollo: the inside scoop on the US space program
Review: In my boyhoood, I collected news clippings of space flights like some others collected stamps. While I knew of the the complete or near-disasters of Apollo 1 and 13 which never escaped media attention, I could not imagine how many more instances of nervous questions there were on the ground at Mission Control Center (MCC) during many of the celebrated successful space shots. Gene Kranz's book provides an insider's view into the inner workings of MCC, all the way from the Mercury program to the final Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Probably better suited than almost any one else to tell this story on how things looked from the ground, Kranz worked his career in NASA up to Flight Director, including for the memorable Apollo 11 and 13 flights which provide some of the most dramatic passages in the book. While the world savored the euphoria of the first men landing on the moon, Kranz tells of how he and his team were worrying about near fatal computer problems with the lunar lander. Most readers will be familiar with the Apollo 13 episode which was well enacted on the big screen with Tom Hanks , but Kranz's book provides some of the finer detail that the movie misses. The book not only provides flight details of the manned spaced shots, but discuss some of the important management and technical issues which need to be resolved to move from Mercury through Gemini and Apollo. Kranz's epilogue concludes with some of his broader observatons and recommendations for future space policy. Readers will be struck by the authoritarian and disciplined management style in the program, which Kranz does not easily hide. The author would probably have done well to use a ghostwriter or good editor. But apart from its prose which lacks elegance and an easy flow, this book provides an illuminating insight into how such a complex management feat was accomplished.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I consider myself an afficianado of the U.S. space program of the 1960s and early '70s, so I eagerly anticipated the arrival of Kranz's book. Kranz has always seemed to be a man of the utmost integrity, dedication and competence. But a page-turning writer he is not. If he used a ghost writer on this book he was ripped off, seeing as how the prose is dry as dust. The book is likely a valuable contribution to history, but it will probably be more referenced in future books than it will be read in its entirety.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: I picked up this book out of interest in the Apollo program (thanks to Ron Howard and Tom Hanks). I just wanted more details, but found out I have an interest in the entire space program. This auto-biography of Gene Kranz's years at NASA reads like a well-written novel. It's a great first hand account of the early years of the space program. From Mercury to the final days of Apollo, this book is a fast paced thrill ride from start to finish. It shows the unwavering intelligence, engenuity and shear willpower of the American people.
Rating:
Summary: A super adventure for those of us who weren't there
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book, particularly since I was born in 1965, and as a result was only vaguely aware of all the events that led to landing a man on the moon. The contrasts between now and then, particularly in computers and communication give you an even better appreciation for the ingenuity and determination of astronauts and mission control alike.
Rating: 
Summary: A Rose Coloured View of an Extraordinary Time
Review: I enjoyed reading this book, especially that Mr. Kranz wrote it himself without the help of a ghost writer. Once you get over the fact that this author clearly thinks of himself as a hero, and wants to remind the reader of his personal accomplishments once or twice a chapter, this book contains alot of very interesting information related to the early days of NASA. This was clearly a dynamic time, full of technological developments born out of a need at NASA. A time worthy of such an interesting book. I was disappointed that although the cover talks about events through to the 80's there was no lengthy discussion on events after the Apollo program. There nothing discussing the events of the Challenger disaster, a period in which NASA operations pushed a "Failure Is The Only Option" approach. But this would fly in the face of the NASA Mr. Kranz believes that he helped to create. All in all: a good book to read, about a remarkable time, from a man with an enormous ego.
Rating:
Summary: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond
Review: When the heroic American astronauts of the '60s and '70s inquired, "Houston, do you read?" it was often Krantz's team who answered from the ground. Veteran NASA flight controller Krantz (portrayed by Ed Harris in the film Apollo 13) has written a personable memoir, one that follows his and NASA's careers from the start of the space race through "the last lunar strike," Apollo 17 (1972-1973). Krantz's story opens in the world of the first U.S. space scientists, of exploding Mercury-Atlas rockets, flaming escape towers and "the first rule of flight control": "If you don't know what to do, don't do anything!" Its climax is Apollo 13, with Krantz serving as "lead flight director" and helping to save the trapped astronauts' lives. His account of that barely averted disaster evokes the adrenalized mood of the flight controllers and the technical problems ("gimbal lock," oxygen status, return trajectories) that had to be solved for the astronauts to survive. Elsewhere in these often-gripping pages we learn of the quarrels that almost derailed Gemini 9A's spacewalk; "the best leaders the program ever had," among them George Mueller, who revived NASA after a 1966 launchpad fire; the forest of internal acronyms and argot ("Go-NoGo," "all-up," EVA, the Trench, CSM, GNC, FIDO, RETRO, GUIDO); and the combination of teamwork and expertise that made the moon landings possible. 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.
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