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Title: Flight My Life in Mission Control by Christopher C. Kraft, Chris Kraft ISBN: 0-452-28304-3 Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc. Pub. Date: 26 February, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.57 (53 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: One of the Best Books Ever about the Space Program
Comment: While I really liked Gene Kranz's book on his experiences in Mission Control and felt that his was a five star book, Chris Kraft's book is orders of magnitude better. Chris Kraft describes in great detail his career at NASA, its predecessor NACA and all the people involved in setting up mission control and getting America to the Moon. He tells it like it was and he's not afraid to criticize (or praise) the many players within NASA and its contractors. Through out the book, the reader gets the impression that Kraft truly enjoyed his job, even with the 70 to 80 hour weeks, and believes in the dream of exploring the solar system and the universe.
The book begins with Kraft's childhood on the Virginia shores of the Atlantic and the factors that ultimately shaped his future. Due to a childhood accident he is unable to fight in World War II and instead ends up becoming an engineer at NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) helping to solve aerodynamic problems of many aircraft. At NACA he distinguishes himself by solving many complex flight problems, some of which are still used today. It is here that he meets many of the people who will become the driving force behind the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, such as Walt Williams and Bob Gilruth. Once the Russians launch Sputnik, he becomes one of a select few of 36 people who form the Space Task Group. This group becomes the core of all manned space flight projects up to the Space Shuttle program. This group developed the Mercury capsule, mission control and selected the Original Seven astronauts. He becomes the Flight Director for the Mercury program and part of the Gemini program. As the space program expands, the group grows quite large and moves to Houston, TX to form the Manned Spacecraft Center (now the Johnson Space Center). Mid-way through the Gemini program he gives up his position as a Flight Director and worked on getting Apollo to the moon.
So much has been written about the Apollo missions to the Moon, that this book was a breath of fresh air. Approximately half of this book is devoted to the Mercury and Gemini programs and how these often ignored projects played an extremely important role in getting America to the Moon. This book is loaded many great nuggets about the space program and Kraft's life. For example, he helps subdue a hijacker, he's one of only a few that criticizes Wernher Von Braun (and not for his Nazi past) and several of the Original Mercury Seven Astronauts and tells how and why Neil Armstrong was selected to be the first man on the moon. But all in all, Kraft continually points out that it was teamwork that got the space program over many hurdles and to the moon. Those who were not non-team players, such as Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter, were eventually eased out of the program.
It is important to note that all the proceeds from this book go to a college scholarship fund for the children of Johnson Space Center employees.
Rating: 5
Summary: An insider's candid account of NASA's evolution
Comment: After reading many books about NASA's early days including Moon Shot and Failure is Not an Option, I was expecting Flight to follow the same formula of a chronological mission-by-mission playback. Instead, I found what I think is one of the best accounts of how NASA evolved and became what it is today.
Though he does include the missions, each with their own difficulties, from Mercury through Apollo, Chris Kraft writes much more from a management standpoint. He describes how decisions were made and how design and planning was accomplished without going too much into the technical nitty-gritty. This is truly a behind-the-scenes look at the early manned spaceflight program.
Kraft starts the book with a description of of his boyhood and college years, explaining how he came to work for what was then known as NACA. Having been a part of NASA from the first days of the Space Task Group, he is one of a few who are in the best position to describe it's evolution. He is open and honest about his feelings toward various people in the industry and the agency itself as it has come to be today. He also gives Bob Gilruth the credit and attention he deserves as the true father of NASA.
The only drawback I found to this book is that the chronology can get a bit confusing at times. Once the Space Task Group is formed, Kraft breaks the book up into Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. Because the programs overlapped, there is a bit of backpedaling at the start of each section which you have to keep track of - just something to keep in mind while you read.
This book is a must-read for anyone interested in early space flight, anyone who wants to revisit those years with an insider's look and anyone currently within NASA. Though all the other books about NASA's best years have their selling points - Flight should be at the top of any list.
Rating: 5
Summary: Young Guys Take On the World and Win -American Style
Comment: This is a modern and very much an American story where people are given the money and resources and are told to get the job done. This takes place of course at NASA under the intense glare of the international media. It was done under tough working conditions, with many technical and human challenges, with long hours, and tough deadlines to meet.
Sure the Mission Control team headed by Kraft was supported by a cast of thousands and many suppliers, but they (ultimately) had to manage the flights and make the decisions, and do the things that were required to make the operation a success. Only the very best people can lead in this technical environment. They must be the brightest and have the ability to garner respect from their fellow workers. Age is not a factor in selecting the people, those decisions are based on raw talent and drive. In this pressure cooker environment Kraft rose to the top.
That is what this book is about. It is a group of young guys with lots of energy and the smarts have to come up with and execute a winning plan and then solve all kinds of problems with no prior or at least limited experiences.
But Kraft and his team did it with the world watching. This book conveys this great achievement by a young group of managers and engineers.
Four or five stars. Great story.
Jack in Toronto
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Title: Deke! : An Autobiography by Donald K. Slayton, Michael Cassutt ISBN: 031285918X Publisher: Forge Pub. Date: 15 June, 1995 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Last Man on the Moon : Astronaut Eugene Cernan and America's Race in Space by Don Davis ISBN: 0312199066 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 March, 1999 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts by Andrew L. Chaikin, Tom Hanks ISBN: 0140272011 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: April, 1998 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Moon Lander: How We Developed the Apollo Lunar Module (Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight Series) by Thomas J. Kelly ISBN: 156098998X Publisher: Smithsonian Institution Press Pub. Date: May, 2001 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: Apollo 13 : Lost Moon by Jim Lovell ISBN: 0671534645 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 1995 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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