Customer Reviews

Venus Rising

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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.

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

"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