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Title: Flight My Life in Mission Control
ISBN: 0452283043
Author:
Christopher Kraft
Chris Kraft
Publicate Date: 2002-02
Publish: 2002-02
List Price: $15.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $73.65
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $4.20
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| Customer Review: |
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1: A better title would have been "Control"
[Updated Review]
I'm not sure what to make of this book, certainly I must have a different book from all those who call this 'inspirational'.
It is clear almost from the start that Christoper C Kraft is a man who has to get his way.
I was expecting a book from the flight controllers side, instead it appears to be a middle-managers viewpoint- he's too high in the organization to have an insight into the factory floor yet too low to have made the more important decisions. Don't be fooled by Kraft's engineering background, he did little if any engineering for NASA and his active role as flight controller ended with the Mercury flights (something that becomes obvious as the book progresses, and the detail gets more and more vague).
And it is also clear in the book that for all the historic events in this book, Kraft had a first class seat... in the audience. All the important and interesting work appears to have been done by other people; we are left with petty corporate politics, character assassination and power grabs.
His real accomplishments, and there are many, become hidden in his petty squabbles and insubordination. There are numerous examples that Kraft, in his own words, seems to demonstrate he is not a likable man.
At least we now know the reason for the impression that the managers at the Manned Space Center during the early days of NASA were egotistical and arrogant... because they actually were egotistical and arrogant.
Kraft has done a pretty good job of character assassination on himself, even worse than what he did to Scott Carpenter. Maybe Kraft should have let someone else write his story, or better still penned a biography of his mentor Bob Gilruth.
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2: a good read
In my humble opinion this book has some very interesting information about the childhood of NASA, and this book and the book of Gene Krantz "Failure is not an option" gives a nice look into the life in the MOCR both at Cape Canaveral/Kennedy and in Houston. Mr. Kraft seems a very humble man and as I see it does not try to play up his own role in the complexity of the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo space adventure
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3: Really the Right Stuff on the Moon Landings
At last I found the ideal person to explain the overall trials and successes of the USA space program: Christopher Columbus Kraft, Jr. A bonus was the success story of a small-town boy with no connections to become the most televised flight director in mission control of NASA, then he moved higher in the ranks of NASA.
Here the politics of our space program, budget cutting as soon as the first moon landing succeeded (if not sooner), according also to the lack of success of the USSR, are all in here. The selection of astronauts, and the surprising problems with a couple of them, and the fights with panicky flight surgeons in approving any spaceflights at all are all in here. The lack of courage of some NASA officials who were so afraid of blame should there be an accident that they almost killed the program is all in here. As it turned out, the Apollo fire did not kill the program, and pols and press were reasonable about it. Bureaucratic overkill got its just desserts.
The willingness of so many contractors to bid on limited-term projects was an inspiration, as was their desire to innovate and make the space program go ahead was an inspiration, but the tales of shoddy workmanship and design flaws even late in the program was not.
The antipathy of some old NASA personnel, Kraft included, toward the Germans under Wernher von Braun was revealed, which slowly diminished. Kraft seemed to acknowledge that without the German effort in the USA to produce the big Saturn V and other boosters, the Apollo program could not have been accomplished in any reasonable period. And to this day, nobody has made such powerful boosters.
This book was the most inspiring I have ever read on the moon landing program, with all its interim steps, and the reason for each flight. Very well written, fast reading, much thanks to James Schefter. Thankfully, much less sanitized than the early astronauts' efforts. Has index. I could not recommend it more.
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4: Read !
Very few books on this period, biographical or not, are quite like this one. The information and personal details give a very complete view of NASA from the very beginning, and give some detail to the management evolution of the organization. It also gives some interesting insights into how development of mission-critical / real-time organizations and management should function.
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5: Fantastic Journey of a fascinating man
What a great book. Chris Kraft has really catured those glorious years when man ventured out into the unknown whilst competing with the Russians. Really easy to read and understand. The book took me back to those early years of the space program and Chris lets you experience the development of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions as if it is happening real time. What a great read
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