Rating: 
Summary: A good first effort which falls short...
Review: A fairly good description of the manned space program up to the end of Apollo from the Mission Control side, this book still leaves the reader wanting greater perspective on the overall effort to reach the Moon. Yes, the writing is unpolished, but the style does capture the man who played a critical role in the early years of the NASA Mission Control--Gene Kranz is a true American original. There is little new material here, but there are a few interesting anecdotes. More discussion of the post-Apollo era would have made this book a much better tome. Furthermore, some of the criticism of NASA today is a bit off base. The NASA of today is a much different place than the one Kranz was a part of in the Cold War era, and warrants a different vision than the space agency of 30 years ago. I enjoyed this book, and recommend it for space buffs. A better book for the casual reader, however, is probably "Moonshot" by Deke Slayton and Alan Shepard.
Rating: 
Summary: Historically interesting but also a portrait of teambuilding
Review: Everyone else has reviewed the technical and historical aspects of this book, which I also found enthralling. However, a side benefit is that it can also be seen as a great how-to book on leadership. The Mission Control "mission statement" and the struggles that Krantz went through to lead the fledgling agency are a great study in teambuilding and the power of visionary leadership through integrity. I've posted the Mission Statement by my desk at work.
Rating:
Summary: Must read after reading all the astronauts' books.
Review: Gene Kranz's book tells a similar story, as told in books by Eugene Cerman, Scott Carpenter, and Chris Kraft, without being dominated by the author's ego. The others wrote good books. But Kranz avoids using personal attacks to tell his tale. The antidotes differ from those in other stories, as Kranz does not have a Boy Scout image to preserve. However, Kranz covers mission control only through Apollo 17.This book is an excellent story of the space race from the ground.
Rating:
Summary: Must read after reading all the astronauts' books.
Review: Gene Kranz's book tells a similar story, as told in books by Eugene Cerman, Scott Carpenter, and Chris Kraft, without being dominated by the author's ego. The others wrote good books. But Kranz avoids using personal attacks to tell his tale. The antidotes differ from those in other stories, as Kranz does not have a Boy Scout image to preserve. However, Kranz covers mission control only through Apollo 17. This book is an excellent story of the space race from the ground.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I consider myself an afficianado of the U.S. space program of the 1960s and early '70s, so I eagerly anticipated the arrival of Kranz's book. Kranz has always seemed to be a man of the utmost integrity, dedication and competence. But a page-turning writer he is not. If he used a ghost writer on this book he was ripped off, seeing as how the prose is dry as dust. The book is likely a valuable contribution to history, but it will probably be more referenced in future books than it will be read in its entirety.
Rating:
Summary: A super adventure for those of us who weren't there
Review: I enjoyed reading this book, especially that Mr. Kranz wrote it himself without the help of a ghost writer. Once you get over the fact that this author clearly thinks of himself as a hero, and wants to remind the reader of his personal accomplishments once or twice a chapter, this book contains alot of very interesting information related to the early days of NASA. This was clearly a dynamic time, full of technological developments born out of a need at NASA. A time worthy of such an interesting book. I was disappointed that although the cover talks about events through to the 80's there was no lengthy discussion on events after the Apollo program. There nothing discussing the events of the Challenger disaster, a period in which NASA operations pushed a "Failure Is The Only Option" approach. But this would fly in the face of the NASA Mr. Kranz believes that he helped to create. All in all: a good book to read, about a remarkable time, from a man with an enormous ego.
Rating:
Summary: THIS BOOK ROCKED
Review: I first learned about this book after I saw Apollo 13. I was inspired by Kranz's (Ed Harris in the movie) zealousness to bring our asronaughts home. I then purchased this book. As I got into it I found that I could not put the book down.. There is NEVER A DULL MOMENT.. somthing always seems to go haywire.. and when it does, The good ol boys at mission control with the skill of the astronaughts do their damnest to fix it. a Truly awe inspireing book not only for space buffs but for any one who needs a good pick er upper. A true tribute to our Space Program. Kranz inspired by Kennedy's words "ask not what your country can do for you .. ask you can do for your country" and "We choose to go to the moon - in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy but because they are hard." A true Patriot Kranz is. I wish there were more people like Gene Kranz out there. I salute you Gene Kranz!
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: I picked up this book out of interest in the Apollo program (thanks to Ron Howard and Tom Hanks). I just wanted more details, but found out I have an interest in the entire space program. This auto-biography of Gene Kranz's years at NASA reads like a well-written novel. It's a great first hand account of the early years of the space program. From Mercury to the final days of Apollo, this book is a fast paced thrill ride from start to finish. It shows the unwavering intelligence, engenuity and shear willpower of the American people.
Rating:
Summary: Failure Is Not an Option
Review: I thought Gene Kranz did a fine job of re-living the space race from Mercury to Apollo. His remarks and recall put you right in the control center and his accounts of some of the more interesting moments make you appreciate everything that test pilots and astronauts went through in those early years. If you have want a great account of the space program, the early years, this is the book you won't be able to put down.
Rating:
Summary: A unique perspective on the space program
Review: I wish I hadn't been so profligate with handing out five stars in the past, because by comparison I wish I could give this book six. There have been many books written about the moon landings. Most focus of course on the astronauts, with a few notable exceptions: Angle of Attack about North American Aviation and the building of the command module and Chariots for Apollo about Grumman's development of the lunar module, to name two of the best. But it took a ground controller to finally write about ground control. It's a grave injustice. It's clear from these pages that the ground controllers were critical to the success of the moon landings and were among the most dedicated and hardest-working of all those involved with the space program. And that is no small compliment. Gene Kranz is an almost legendary figure among these, in part due to Ed Harris's masterful portrayal of him in the movie Apollo 13. Here he gets the chance to tell his point of view. He covers his entire career-in fact, his entire life, at least in brief-and it's quite a read. He came on board the space program in the earliest days of Mercury and didn't retire until well after the moon landings. We get to read about those early, tentative days, when some of the most brilliant technical minds in America came together and tried to figure out how the heck to get men into space. Initially getting a ride to the control center with astronaut Gordon Cooper, Kranz starts out with the responsibility for writing procedures for things that have never been done before. He quickly moves up the chain of responsibility and becomes a flight director in time for the Gemini missions. He covers each mission he's involved with in detail from his unique point-of-view, and continues this approach through Apollo. One of the reasons I want to give this book six stars is that it's an absolute page-turner, and I can't remember the last time I read a nonfiction book that I couldn't put down. I sat up several nights into the wee hours, just wanting to read a little bit more to see his take on Gemini 8 (when David Scott and Neil Armstrong almost spun out of control due to a stuck thruster), Apollo 11, or Apollo 13. Even though I've read about all of these missions many, many times, it was utterly gripping to hear about them from his perspective. If I were to hold anything against this book, it would be that it's clearly written by Kranz himself and not a ghost-writer. The writing is often unpolished and occasionally confusing. Still, it doesn't seem to slow the book down (see about the page-turning above), and it gives it a straightforwardness and a sometimes brutal honesty that's lacking in many more polished efforts. In particular, Kranz's account of the Apollo 1 fire and its devastating effect on all those who felt themselves in some way responsible is the most powerful recounting I've experienced, and that includes the superb dramatization in the HBO/Tom Hanks miniseries, From the Earth to the Moon. He concludes the book with an impassioned plea to revitalize the American space program and recapture the spirit of the sixties, an era when, for all its troubles, anything seemed possible. As he puts it, "We have become a nation of spectators, unwilling to take risks or act on strong beliefs." It's hard to disagree with that. And I think it's worth noting that one of the seldom-stated successes of America's space program was that it gave Gene Kranz and those who worked with him a chance to demonstrate their greatness. If you have any interest in the space program at all, you MUST read this book.
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