Each individual tour of duty in Vietnam was unique.If you want just a taste of what it was like to be a Mobile Advisory Team Leader in Vietnam,read this book.Its not your typical war story. Sure,there are some combat passages. Hell,the man almost died over there. But you will laugh at the incredulity of water skiing in a combat zone.You'll see the humor in the fire drill of script change day.The respect and admiration he felt for his Vietnamese counterpart is palpable.He shares the pain of civilian losses.He suffers his own pain.Ultimately he gets a parade and moves on with his life.But he never forgets.He returns to this country,to his place of life alteration and finds the children most notable.This is a good book.I know first hand what an Advisor did and this is our story.
Daniel P.Reimer
1LT,Infantry
Senior Advisor,Mobile Advisory Team 26, II Corps,Tuyen Duc Province,Republic of Vietnam, 1970-71

Tucker Smallwood, an actor of some renown, has compiled short, autobiographical essays about his tour of duty, about his family and career, and about his return to Vietnam in Return To Eden. It is an easy and intriguing read. But it is one leaving the reader hankering for more...We look forward to a second, expanded edition.

The Veteran - Nov/Dec 2006
The Official Voice of Vietnam Veterans of America

Although I haven't read many Viet Nam memoirs, I found Mr. Smallwood's collection of essays by far the most intriguing. Can anyone who didn't serve in that time and reality truly appreciate the experience? Probably not, but Mr. Smallwood shines a light on the process of a soldier in war, the blood and guts, the anguish and joy of survival, and coming home. As someone else suggested, buy 2 copies and give one to a friend (especially when that friend is a combat veteran).

Susan Dewell

I found Mr. Smallwood's compilation of essays to be highly engaging, each one laced with potent recollections and passionate insight into an amazing, albeit troubling, time and place in our nation's history. I can't imagine what it must have been like for our soldiers to endure such horrors during the Vietnam War, or any war for that matter, but as I read on, I often felt like I was right there, transported through time, shadowing Tucker as he and his Mobile Advisory Team traversed the canals, rivers, rice paddies and swamps of the Mekong Delta. Written with power and grace, and tinged with the occassional humorous anecdote, "Return to Eden" provides the reader with an accessible porthole through which one can journey back in time to share this unique individual's incredible journey. Hats off to Mr. Smallwood for his undying service to our country, and for his generosity in sharing with us his personal triumph. Carpe diem! Can't wait for the next one. -Robert K. Townsend

"An incredible master at not just living through some horrific experiences, but recalling them in such vivid detail, seeing it all for its pure truth, and putting them all onto paper for all of us to experience. I laughed, I cried, I stood silent. Thank you for taking me on this remarkable journey with you."


France H. M. Pelis, SPHR, Director of Human Resources, CFGC

As a member of the Mekong Delta Water Ski Club (Go Cong / Hoa Binh Chapter), I found Smallwood saying my thoughts and using my words. Thirtyseven years melted away as I returned to maps without contour lines, smiling agreements to not agree and ending a day of firefights by watching Rick Jason in "Combat."

Unlike most "combat memoires" Tucker Smallwood deals with the aftermath that many Vets won't talk about. An incredibly honest story told in bite size chapters.

Rick Gandenberger MACV MAT IV-29 IV-30

Tucker's distinctive voice comes through loud and clear in this strong collection of essays which will make you chuckle and make you think. The photos, particularly the ones of 1960s OCS and old and new Vietnam, are a treat. Tucker is frank, sentimental, unafraid of controversy and easy to read. You need two copies, one for yourself and one to give to a friend.

Dick Stanley, RF-PF advisor, MACV, I Corp, 1969-70

"I found it to be interesting and easy to read. Your writing style makes it seem as if the reader is sitting down with you having a beer while the story is being told. As I read, I found myself wondering, am I enjoying this because I know Tucker and have shared some common experiences or is he just a good writer? I decided you are just a good writer."
Lee Luckey, Captain. U.S.Army. Ist Signal Brigade.

I spent about 2 hours tonight immersed in your book and really enjoyed the journey. It was such an easy read, it felt like we were sitting over a beer (or 6) and reminiscing about old times and sharing memories of those times. Brought back memories; rekindled my long-held desire to someday return to Saigon, Nha Trang and Kontum especially. My first tour, in particular, as an SF medic, seems like another life altogether.
Claude Cooper, LTC (Ret), SF

Smallwood has written an extraordinary account of his experience during those thirty odd years, a story that ranges across the Vietnam War, politics, and his own struggles to come to terms with his life, all bound together by the leitmotif of his time in Tan Nhut Nam. Return to Eden describes a journey that will be familiar to most of us who were CoVans, but is, at the same time, deeply personal and unique.
Smallwood's description of the small universe of the Advisor is sharp and clear. Return to Eden is the product of an independent and intense talent, with a perspective that some will not find agreeable. Yet, after reading Tucker Smallwood's essays, anyone who was ever been an Advisor will know that this is our story too, told by a man who is one of us.

Ken Jacobsen - SITREP editor, former Army advisor and president of COUNTERPARTS, a veteran’s organization of men who served as Military Advisors in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.

I started reading your book about 11 PM and I finished reading your book about 3 this morning, I couldn't put it down. Needless to say I enjoyed it. I admire your courage, bravery and adventurous spirit. I appreciate your honesty in revealing yourself.

Gene Kaufman, da chiropractor

I just finished reading your book and all I can say is WOW! Exceptionally well written and extremely heartfelt. As you say, you had to have been there to totally understand the mind of a combat soldier.

I was touched that you remembered my comments to you about your effect on my life. Everything that I said then was true and still is. I will be forever in your debt for all that you taught me. All the members of my SF team made it through some bad times thanks to to the training and discipline that you taught me. War hurts, but you made the pain bearable. You have also made me re-evaluate going back to Vietnam to get rid of many ghosts. I didn't have the courage before, but this book has given it to me now.
William Rapp, LTC, SF(Ret.)