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The mid-20th Century was a time of great upheaval and technological advancement. In the decades following World War II, the Cold War dominated global events. The "Space Race" took center stage. Adventurous and courageous men and woman aspired to "push the limit" to discover new technology and take science to new heights. One of these adventurous and courageous men, a man who boldly helped lead the world forward in aeronautics and space exploration, was Eugene F Kranz. Gene Kranz was a tough disciplinarian who was also very well liked and very highly respected. While Gene Kranz focused on cutting-edge historic advancement, at the same time he successfully inpired the people around him to "take responsibility for their actions" and "be the absolute best they could be". In many decades of work for NASA, Gene Kranz was the man in charge of man's first landing on the Moon in July 1969: Apoll 11. As Flight Director at NASA, Mr Kranz also used his "Failure Is Not An Option" credo in the remarkable recovery efforts needed to bring the Apollo 13 crew back to Earth successfully. In recent years in the 2000's Mr Kranz has continued spreading his inspirational message of "dedicated excellence" and "responsible accomplishment" through speaking engagements. While many people know the names of the famous Astronauts like Buzz Aldrin, John Glenn, Gene Cernan, Walter Cunningham, Wally Schirra, Neil Armstrong, etc., many people would not immediately recognize the name of the man behind the mission, Gene Kranz. If you appreciate hard-work, proper-respect, wonderful accomplishment, and "blazing new trails", you should enjoy getting to know Gene Kranz through his autobiographical book "Failure Is Not An Option"... onwards & upwards.....Read full review
My husband had this as an audiobook and I really wanted to read it too, being a great lover of space exploration and everything associated with it, and being a big fan of Gene Kranz. However, I can never concentrate with an audiobook and wanted a "real" book to read. When I started looking for this book, I quickly decided it would be great to have a book personally signed by Mr Kranz. There were many available on the market, in paperback and hardback, some signed with dedications and some just the signature. What drew me to this particular book, even though the price was higher than a lot of other books available, was the quality. The signature had been authenticated, there was no dedication to someone I didn't know and the photos showed a hardback book that was of extremely good quality in terms of the cover and pages. Having decided this book was for me, ordering online was extremely easy. The book had to travel all the way from New Jersey, USA to the south of England and had been packed very carefully to ensure it arrived undamaged. When I finally go to open the book it was everything I had hoped for and better - the quality was much better than the photos had shown, so much that it was as if it were brand new and never read. I am looking forward to reading it and will take extreme care to make sure it remains in such great condition. I am very pleased with my new purchase and will treasure it always.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I picked up this book at the library and decided to buy it because it is a historical narrative of one of the best flight directors of NASA during it's early years. One will remember Kranz from the movie "Apollo 13." The book is narrated by Kranz and highlights his missions during the pre- Mercury days, the Mercury era, the Gemini Era, Apollo, and up to his retirement. It's a great historical reference to what actually happened during the early days of NASA, when NASA was at it's peak, highlighting the highs and lows of the program. What gives it that added "touch" of narrative is that it is written by an internal character to the program and took all the decisions first hand. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who is into the dawn of space discovery.
Gene tells it like it was....and how it still should be! This book is an awesome read for the hardcore space program fan. Mr. Kranz goes into detail about how he landed the job at mission control, how hectic life was at the beginning of the space program, how guts and courage got man to the moon.....and how it all wasted away........if everybody involved in the program, from government to the man on sweeping duty, had Gene's intestinal fortitude, we would be living on the moon by now. Even if you only have a passing interest in the space program, pick up this book......I gaurantee it'll turn you into a fan!!
A great story, well written and still of interest after all these years.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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