Failure Is Not an Option

Excellent Book!

What made the experience of listening to Failure Is Not an Option the most enjoyable?

Excellent book! If you love the Space program then you must read or listen to this book. One reviewer said it was boring, it was NOT boring. I've listened to it twice in less than a month.

The only thing that would have made this book better would have been to have Gene Kranz narrate it himself.

27 people found this helpful

A wonderful story told beautifully.

The story of the space race as told from inside mission control. This beautifully told story illustrates the right stuff that was part of the American race to space.

Gene talks about his experiences and impressions dr the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions. The technical detail and log book like rebelling of the missions recreates the wonder, enthusiasm and menace of NASA's missions. Placing the events in political context adds a depth and honesty to a work.

The only downside is the extensive use of acronyms throughout. Although the folks involved would have mastered the various abbreviated names rapidly during the months of planning and training, I found that nearly listening, I struggled to master all the acronyms on the trot. Fortunately I am able to listen again as this is definitely a book that will will be listened to more than once.

23 people found this helpful

A great documentary!

I lived through the manned space program as a participant....from the contractor's point of view. Gene Kranz's pivotal position in the middle of the events of that era gave him an outstanding position from which to describe them. And his telling of the fraternity of "controllers" gave my new insight into the events as seen from an insider.

9 people found this helpful

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.

16 people found this helpful

Couldn't wait to listen a second time

If you could sum up Failure Is Not an Option in three words, what would they be?

Very Detailed Account

What did you like best about this story?

The pace is superb. Not a detail left out. Very complete and easy to understand. A priceless recollection of a remarkable man's history, during America's (and possibly the Earth's) most interesting period of time. Most NASA/Apollo type books talk about the perspective from the hot-shot Astronaut (Sorry Jim, Buzz, Neil and Gene). The perspective of mission control was vital to getting a complete picture of the race to the moon. Do not skip this book. It's great for history buffs, leaders, teacher or anyone interested in a genuinely good piece of storytelling.

Which scene was your favorite?

Too many to chose from. Most might say the Apollo 11 landing or the Apollo 13 crisis. I'd have to say, the stories of how the men in the MCC pulled together through Mercury to Apollo were all my favorites.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Grounded Heroism

Any additional comments?

If you're a fan of the period, the subject matter or just great detailed real-life drama - do yourself a favor and listen to this book!

23 people found this helpful

Who the heck is Von Brown?

This is one Audible book that is probably better to read than to listen to. Campbell is a terrible reader in that his voice is very monotonic and he didn't do his homework on pronunciations. Wernher Von Braun was a household name even for us kids of the day, but Campbell pronounces it Von Brown. Other names are wrong too, but none worse than this one. I almost turned it off right there in Chapter 1. Kranz was a product of his day and doesn't apologize for that. Read it and you'll understand what that means. As a space and Apollo fan, it is a good story, but Campbell pretty much ruined it for me.

11 people found this helpful

Dry Insights in to the Space Program

Any additional comments?

I was hoping to love this book and it does give an interesting inside look at many aspects of the Mercury and Apollo missions, but what made Gene Kranz a great Nasa mission controller does not make him an engaging author.

The stories are full of interesting facts, but there is little-to-no drama in the writing, even when recounting the most dramatic of events, such as the Apollo 13 mission. All NASA folk seem to be well trained in handling the media. Everything is upbeat, succinct and politically correct. This is very important to NASA's success, but this mind-set has carried in to this book. So it is rather unemotional and dry.

Worth a listen for NASA fans, but certainly not enthralling.

By the way it is clear that Gene Kranz was a vital player in the space program's success and I think we should all be grateful to him.

25 people found this helpful

A Great Story written by an Outstanding Man

What did you like best about this story?

I was fascinated by the story of the missions, but Kranz's "voice" as an author carried this out of the ballpark. He's inspiring in his lack of ego, his obvious respect for his team, and his respect for the missions. I love hearing about this time of great triumph told by a man who doesn't revel in himself, but in what we as a people were able to do.

I highly recommend this. I didn't find it dry, in the least. A basic knowledge of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions will make this more exciting, as you will already have the astronauts' stories-- the story of the huge team behind them becomes even more important.

Kranz as a person is the greatest part of this for me. I found it to be a kind of "self help" book in that he models so many qualities that we might strive to have, but it's not boring like self-help books, nor is it egotistical. (I think of those self-congratulatory tomes and TED talks in which people tell me all about how great they are in the guise of telling me how to be a better person.)

For Kranz, we are in it for each other, for our nation -- for the mission -- not for ourselves. We admit to our mistakes, and we work to do better constantly. Failure is not an option in that context.

Great story! Great book! Great author!

Darned exciting stuff, too! It inspires.

The Audible narration is right on the money, too.

9 people found this helpful

This book needed an editor

This book needed an editor

I don't think the 5-star reviewers are being honest with themselves. I wanted to love this book. I wanted it to be full of great anecdotes and wisdom about how to rebound from failure. And there's some of that I here, but you have to wade through hours and hours of minutiae to find even the smallest items of interest. And I am a space dork. I read this before a recent trip to NASA.

I am not sure what the point of this book was. As an oral history, maybe it is fine. It is a very comprehensive log of his career. But asa general audience, mass production book, it is just far too dull.

3 people found this helpful

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.

9 people found this helpful