Books like Failure is not an option

A gripping, sweat-inducing seat inside the control room where brilliant minds chain-smoked their way through impossible crises. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with Failure is not an option.

high-stakes
tense
awe-inspiring
focused

01
Carrying the fire
Michael Collins
A wry, poetic, and profoundly human reflection on the ultimate solitary journey.
Shares:
- awe-inspiring
- pragmatic
02
Apollo 8
Jeffrey Kluger
A white-knuckle journey into the void that captures both the claustrophobic terror of spaceflight and the soaring triumph of human ingenuity.
Shares:
- tense
- awe-inspiring
- authoritative
- earnest
03
A Man on the Moon
Andrew Chaikin · 1995
An intimate, awe-inspiring journey that puts you inside the minds and spacesuits of the first humans to leave our world.
Shares:
- tense
- awe-inspiring
- earnest
04
An Astronauts Guide to Life on Earth
Chris Hadfield
A masterclass in extreme preparation that somehow leaves you feeling profoundly calm and deeply appreciative of ordinary life.
Shares:
- awe-inspiring
- focused
- earnest
- pragmatic
05
Moon shot
Alan B. Shepard · 1994
An authoritative, firsthand journey through the triumphs and perils of America's race to the moon.
Shares:
- tense
- awe-inspiring
- authoritative
- earnest
06
Lost Moon
Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger · 1994
A ticking-clock true survival thriller set in the unforgiving vacuum of space.
Shares:
- high-stakes
- tense
- awe-inspiring
- authoritative
07
Counting on Katherine
Helaine Becker
An uplifting, educational journey that celebrates the boundless curiosity and heroic intellect of a groundbreaking mathematician.
Shares:
- earnest
08
Argo
Matt Baglio
A gripping, stranger-than-fiction thrill ride that proves reality can be far more audacious than any Hollywood script.
Shares:
- high-stakes
- tense
- authoritative
09
How we'll live on Mars
Stephen Petranek
A thrilling, pragmatic roadmap to humanity's next great frontier that makes science fiction feel like tomorrow's news.
Shares:
- awe-inspiring
- pragmatic
10
The Apollo Murders
Chris Hadfield
A hyper-realistic, white-knuckle plunge into the deadly paranoia of the Cold War, set against the unforgiving vacuum of space.
Shares:
- tense
- authoritative
11
Hidden Figures
Margot Lee Shetterly
An inspiring, intellectually thrilling journey alongside the brilliant minds who defied gravity and systemic prejudice to change the course of history.
Shares:
- earnest
12
To engineer is human
Henry Petroski
A fascinating, forgiving look at how our greatest technological triumphs are built on a foundation of spectacular mistakes.
Shares:
- pragmatic

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