Book cover of Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond

Book description

The man who headed the "tiger team" that saved the Apollo 13 astronauts gives an insider's view of NASA Mission Control, from the early years of trying to catch up with the Russians to the end of the manned spaced program.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

2 authors picked Failure Is Not an Option as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Gene Kranz gave a precise and concise description of historic events around the creation of America’s manned space program and presented the key players at the forefront of NASA’s space exploration Missions. His participation in the space program from the early days of the Mercury program to the last Apollo mission was dramatically documented in this book to my admiration. A fascinating firsthand account by a veteran mission controller of one of America’s greatest achievements, this book reflects on what has happened to the space program and offers his own bold suggestions about what we ought to be doing in…

From Segun's list on agricultural mechanization.

This New York Times bestselling memoir of a veteran NASA flight director, tells riveting stories from the early days of the Mercury program through Apollo 11 (the moon landing) and Apollo 13, for both of which Kranz was flight director. As a child of the Apollo era, I was fascinated by the inside story of the moon landing and riveted by how Kranz and his team overcame the impossible and turned a near disaster into a triumph of ingenuity and determination.

From Nick's list on dealing with unexpected events.

If you love Failure Is Not an Option...

Ad

Book cover of The Smart Mission: NASA’s Lessons for Managing Knowledge, People, and Projects

The Smart Mission by Edward J. Hoffman,

The Smart Mission brings together NASA’s most important lessons on how people, knowledge, and systems shape complex projects.

Drawing on decades of experience at NASA—including my time as the agency’s first Chief Knowledge Officer—this book explains why mission success depends less on process and more on culture, learning, and collaboration.…

Want books like Failure Is Not an Option?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 99 books like Failure Is Not an Option.

Browse books like Failure Is Not an Option

Book cover of Fly for Your Life: The Story of R. R. Stanford Tuck
Book cover of Fat Dogs and French Estates, Part 4
Book cover of Two Old Fools on a Camel

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,277

readers submitted
so far, will you?