Moon Lander: How We Developed the Apollo Lunar Module (Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight (Paperback)) Paperback – September 11, 2009

Tom Kelly's testimony about the construction of the lunar module shows us the exact measure of the sacrifice he and his staff did, together with other vendors, enabling the accomplishment of Keneddy's challenge.Do you want to learn something really good about management? He tells us about a more than gigantic task, a never before run project.Do you think you know enough about quality management? He teach us how they dealt with the balance between deadlines and quality.Do you think your concern about security is enough on your projects? Learn why you're wrong.Mr. Supplier, is it hard the negotiation between you and your client? Problems with budget? See some hints and tips you'd never thought about, mainly if the project is based on not detailed nor completely defined contract specifications and prices.All of this permeated with change dynamics hard to be realized in it's full extent by both contractor and supplier.Weekends totally dedicated to the work, and families also with his role to play, so that emotional stability could be ensured and the project would not be affected.And everything openly followed and criticized around the world, with press wide eyes opened.This history, told by the responsible for LM's building, is quite poignant. Even those who do not have technical basis are moved by Kelly's storytelling. We feel the pressure and anxiety as we were the project manager.Often, even knowing the "end of history", we are in suspense, and suddenly memory is cleared temporarily, so we find ourselves hoping for things going all OK.Technical knowledge is important but not fundamental to read the book. Some basic knowledge of the Apollo project and the LM, available in most basic sources of information, allow the reader to read this book with pleasure.It is important for anyone who is interested or wants to specialize in project management. And for those who like the manned space exploration, of course.The final product was more than 100% good and perfect. Are all your projects like this, so far?Better than the book, only the job done by thousands of people leaded by Mr. Kelly, building the successfull LM.

I got interested in this book after I watched the DVD series "From Earth To Moon", which I still consider on of the best DVD series ever published about anything. This book represents DVD #2, Part 5 in this series, with much more meat and gore that you could possibly take. The book is written by Thomas Kelly, Chief Engineer of Lunar Module (the thing which landed on Moon) itself. I would highly recommend watching the DVD first before you start on the book so you have perspective and appreciation about what the author is talking about. While the book is written in personal style rather then a dull document, it isn't written like a "murder mystery novel" which makes you to sit through and read it in one pass. It often gets dry with details, sometime without much explanation of technical terms or relevance. Also note that this book represents only a part of Moon mission, i.e., the LM module. The book serves as nice document but might fail to gain your interest unless you were a nerd who dreamed about working for NASA all your life ;). If you weren't this type or don't have a time to read it, check out the DVD set!

I learned about Thomas J. Kelly of the Grumman Iron Works through his character played by actor Matt Craven on the HBO Series From the Earth to the Moon. I saw a man dedicated to creating an unearthly vehicle to land man on the moon. The Lunar Modules has some growing pains but in the end they worked superbly for NASA and the astronauts who used the LMs to make it to the surface of the Moon. I found Kelly's well-thought out and insightful book to be an enjoyable read. Kelly did a good job of walking the reader through the alien world of government contracts. Grumman had been working with the Navy for a long time and would they be able to adjust to the way NASA did business. Grumman was a newcomer to the space race and now the US was embarking on the massive Project Apollo to make JFK's declaration that we would land men on the moon and safely return them to the earth by the end of the decade a reality. Kelly walks us through the battles, successes, setbacks, and other issues that faced Grumman throughout the build process for the LM. The LM functioned well with a few glitches but it really came into its own for the Apollo 13 mission. The LM was turned into a lifeboat that saved the crew so they could return home to earth and survive once they landed in the Pacific. Just an excellent and easy to read book that keeps you fascinated by and invested in these folks at Grumman.