Overall rating and opinion of "Deadly Waters" by Randy Miller

[spluficvictory]

The author did a great job. I appreciate the simplicity and I enjoyed the characters.

[MsH2k]

I really enjoyed this book. I was too young to understand what was going on when my cousins were fighting in Vietnam, and I learned a lot from this story. Sadly, it took me this long to take the initiative to know more - better late than never. I gladly rated it 4 out of 4 stars.

[Mantino999]

That book was amazing from the beginning to end i recognized the authors euphemism towards accents it had me laughing all through the sequence. However, the end had me so emotional i had to personally change my perception on the 70's reform towards our vet's. great book

[Mrunal Tikekar]

I am intrigued by the book. I am yet to read it, but I am pretty sure this is the kind of book I will thoroughly enjoy. All the reviews for this book have been full of praises, and I personally like reading war stories. The book address a poignant fragment of history, and I do believe every patriotic citizen, not just of America but around the world should read it.

[silvaharon]

I haven't read the book because i am turned away by war stories. in my opinion, I fell that wars are unnecessary. I see so many war books and the desire to read through them is not there. and i feel so sad when people celebrate war victors. They are heroes on one side but on the other side of the story they are villains to the families of the people they killed and other casualties of war

[maxiphemmax]

Just flipping through the pages of this book, and I think it's an interesting one indeed, no wonder it was given 4 out of 4 stars.

[DC Brown]

I just started to read the book. For anyone interested, it was 44 years ago today that the last US combat forces were withdrawn from South Vietnam. According to the Voice of America, we left 7200 civilians of the Dept of Defense behind as advisers. The fighting continued for more than a year after. I'm glad that writers like Miller commit this era of history so accurately to the body of popular historical fiction.

This was a hard book for me to read. Although I was in my teens at the time of the war and I saw it on the news every night I had no idea of the reality and the horror. I feel guilty for not having paid more attention. Before reading this I only had the picture in my head of the girl with napalm burning her back. I had thought that was an isolated incident. How wrong I've been.

[ciecheesemeister]

I am still reading it, but to sum things up, this book is not just historical fiction, it packs in a lot of (horrifying) historical fact. I think it should be part of the curriculum for any high school or college class which covers the Vietnam war.

[Stephanie Runyon]

I lost interest in this book very quickly. I am not sure why but the historical writings of many authors tend to leave me bored. I think it could just be history never interested me and I live for the here and now.

[Kaylee Elmer]

I loved this book and I rated it 4 out of 4 stars. I liked how the author tackled the adversities and horros of war, and also how veterans may not be treated like the heroes they are. The part I liked least about this book was the detailed description of what war entailed. I would definitely recommend this book to others in order to ensure such an issue of denying pension to veterans is boycotted by many.

When you say the part you liked least was the detailed description of what war entailed, do you mean the violence of war? This book sounds interesting but if it's gory and violent I probably wouldn't want to read it.

[María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda]

I completed Deadly Waters in a tearful state. Randy Miller has captured the realities of the Vietnam Era with such simplicity and feeling that I had flashbacks to that time in my life when I waited for my friends' letters from overseas, walked in protest marches to bring our boys home, campaigned to secure the right to vote for our mostly under 21 age soldiers, and visited in the VA hospitals with hometown kids who came back wounded in body and soul.

Zachs's service aboard two different vessels (one inland water and one blue water) were taken from real ships and campaigns. The author writes from first hand knowledge, as he did several tours in 'Nam, himself. The relationships between the sailors or 'squids', and the marines or 'jarheads' is well known, even if Miller exaggerated some to allow drama. Zach shows a steady build in his character until you just have to root for him. Zach and Tally share such a beautiful optimistic view of their future together in Miller's well-illustrated, Vermont farm. I ached at the reversals of their dreams when Zach's cancer ate him up. He goes from naive belief that the VA was going to be as supportive as his Navy 'family' to a stoic courage that was inspiring.

US public law 299-116, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 finally awards combat veteran status to service on ships such as Zach's, along with the presumption of service connection for the diseases the VA accepts as caused by Agent Orange. No longer can the VA deny benefits to sailors based on their own poor record keeping. I want to thank Randy Miller for his courage and for his story. He deserves every one of the four out of four stars that I gave him.

Thank you for sharing your personal experience. I wasn't sure about finishing this book, but your account made me remember the importance of this time period.

[Ekta Swarnkar]

I haven't read the book but I'll soon be going to.

[Beatus]

A very good book. The story teaches about humanity's flaws. The consequences of conflict and the lessons thereof. 4 of 4 for me.

[Pearl Hijabi]

I'm rating the book 4 out of 4. I like how the author has discribed the horrors and adversities of war. And I also liked the reality check the author has given us about the veterans being unable to claim what they deserve.

[Niv123]

The life of a veteran and the reality of war put across in an honest and unadulterated manner. Loved the book.