This is a chronicle of one simple man s experience in a world turned upside down. It is a story of faith and belief in a guardian angel, told in the pure and innocent voice of a 20-year-old caught in the midst of a crazy war on a boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Some 62 years later, he felt compelled to tell this story, which culminates with his description of an otherworldly experience he had off the shores of Japan in 1945. Yet it is more than a simple memoir. It is a window into the past. Growing up in Texas during the rough days of the Great Depression, Harry Deal went to sea after having seen the ocean only once before his enlistment. Assigned to the aircraft carrier Enterprise, he chose a more dangerous assignment on an oil tanker because his friends were on board. He faced the dangers and shared the camaraderie of war in the Pacific and experienced a surreal encounter that influences his life even today. Harry tells his story like he saw it: keenly, simply, and with a wry, understated Texan sense of humor. Venus Rising takes us in a very genuine and authentic way into the hearts and minds of those who lived with honor and courage and offered up years of their lives for a purpose beyond themselves. Venus Rising is both an adventure and a war story. It is a journey into a different time in a very different world. It is a journey well worth taking...and remembering.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
A vividly remembered memoir, Venus Rising sneaks up on you with its simple approach, then delivers an emotional wallop. Harry Deal tells his story honestly, passionately, and with a disarming sense of humor. It s a highly personal peek at one man s contribution to the Greatest Generation. --Arianna Huffington
Venus Rising is a very enjoyable, honest and genuine, nostalgic journey through the 1940s and the war in the Pacific. It is a timely, vivid, and powerful reminder of the deep tragedies, the immense sufferings, and the ghastly cost of war. --Terry Sanders
I loved reading this book. A terrific storyteller. I laughed often and was terrified for him often, sometimes at the same time. Dozens of the stories he tells are priceless. Like the time he s getting his wisdom tooth pulled as a kamikaze dive-bombs the ship! --Daniel Voll
Venus Rising is a very enjoyable, honest and genuine, nostalgic journey through the 1940s and the war in the Pacific. It is a timely, vivid, and powerful reminder of the deep tragedies, the immense sufferings, and the ghastly cost of war. --Terry Sanders
I loved reading this book. A terrific storyteller. I laughed often and was terrified for him often, sometimes at the same time. Dozens of the stories he tells are priceless. Like the time he s getting his wisdom tooth pulled as a kamikaze dive-bombs the ship! --Daniel Voll
About the Author
Harry William Deal was just out of high school when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Whether he would enlist was not the question the only question was when. He served in the Pacific from 1942 through the end of the war, first on a Navy tanker and later on a destroyer. He returned home a decorated sailor, though he doesn t consider himself a hero. His experiences during this period are the foundation for this book a story he felt compelled to tell many decades later. After the war Harry bootstrapped himself from manual labor at Pan American Airways into management at Texas Instruments, where he specialized in safety issues. His love of reading, especially history, shines through his writing. As of this publication, Harry and his wife, Yvonne, have been married for 60 years. They are the very proud parents of three children and grandparents of four grandchildren. Harry and Yvonne live in Marble Falls, Texas.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
An absorbing read, grounded in reality,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Venus Rising (Hardcover)
Now published over sixty years after its events have transpired, Venus Rising: A Memoir is the true-life story of a World War II veteran who had a life-transforming experience aboard a boat in the Pacific Ocean, off the shores of Japan in 1945. When the planet Venus was rising high in the night sky, he encountered something beyond the borders of the natural world. Yet Venus Rising is far more than the story of a metaphysical; it is also a memoir of growing up in the Great Depression, filled with anecdotes of everyday life in deep South Dallas. As a young man the author delved into his fair share of trouble, from getting handcuffed to the perimeter fence for trying to sneak into the State Fair to dipping Jax beer from a bucket on the floorboard of a 1935 Chevy Rumble Seat Coupe while driving across the state. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Deal joined the U.S. Navy. His belief in a guardian angel helped him remain steady in a turbulent era of war and suffering. "Of course, in telling this story I have come face-to-face with timeless questions about chance, random bad luck, timing, destiny, and the role that belief and faith play in what really happens in life. I'd like to think that we all have guardian angels protecting us and that the things we do not understand are just pieces of a puzzle that fit together into a larger plan that we are only able to get small glimpses of in this lifetime." An absorbing read, grounded in reality, that nonetheless touches upon aspects of the universe far greater than the individual.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Review - Venus Rising,
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This review is from: Venus Rising (Hardcover)
Venus Rising is a record, not only of historical value, but a personal one of a man's life in the Navy during World War II.
Harry William Deal put his memories to paper, not for the first time, but a second time more than 60 years later. A Texan, having seen the ocean only once, joined his friends in the Navy onboard the oil tanker USS Raccoon in the Pacific. The memoir tells not only of his experiences but of the real emotion, dedication, and personalities of the many people he encountered before, during and after the war years. He describes a nation of people, not just the few in the book by these words, "As a result of this war, we men were a little tougher, a little sadder, and a lot wiser." This is not just a war novel. Venus Rising tells the real story, the emotions, the homefront experiences, the unexpected humor and the tragedies. I recommend you read this book as it will help you to understand your fathers, grandfathers or maybe great-grandfathers generation a little bit better and take their hard earned wisdom to heart. -Steve Terjeson World War II History
5.0 out of 5 stars
Venus Rising,
This review is from: Venus Rising (Hardcover)
"Venus Rising" is an outstanding portrait of life in the US Navy during WWII, as written many years after the fact, with clarity and amazing recall, by a seaman who was there. Highly entertaining, and providing a unique perspective on these great events. I give best marks to this true story from the Greatest Generation. -- Ben Gebhardt
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