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Cover of Failure is not an option

Failure is not an option

Gene Kranz

662 pages

A gripping, sweat-inducing seat inside the control room where brilliant minds chain-smoked their way through impossible crises.

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What it feels like

Reading this memoir feels like being handed a headset and a slide rule in the middle of a high-stakes crisis. The narrative moves with a brisk, methodical intensity, mirroring the very nature of Mission Control. It is not just a historical account; it is a masterclass in extreme problem-solving and the burden of leadership. The prose is direct and unadorned, yet it pulses with the earnest, sweat-soaked reality of young engineers working around the clock to achieve the impossible. You can almost smell the stale coffee and cigarette smoke in the windowless rooms where history was made. It will deeply satisfy readers who crave stories of competence, camaraderie under pressure, and the gritty, unglamorous teamwork required to touch the stars.

Mood
  • high-stakes
  • tense
  • awe-inspiring
  • focused
Tone
  • authoritative
  • earnest
  • pragmatic
  • intense
Pace
brisk
Themes
burden of leadership · extreme problem-solving · camaraderie under pressure · human ingenuity · triumph of competence
The writing
Direct, no-nonsense, and highly detailed, reflecting the methodical mind of a seasoned engineer and leader.
The arc
Moves from the ambitious, uncertain early days of the space race through devastating setbacks to the triumphant, hard-won successes of the Apollo program.
Who it's for
Readers fascinated by space history, crisis management, and the gritty, behind-the-scenes reality of monumental human achievements.
Content notes
  • workplace tragedy
  • high-stakes peril

About the book

"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 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."--BOOK JACKET.

Description from Open Library.

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