BEYOND VIETNAM; THE UNITED STATES AND ASIA by Edwin O. Reischauer. 242 pages. Knopf. $4.95.
Books about Viet Nam have become a sizable industry. In 1967 alone, more than 50 authors produced observations, histories and critiques of various kinds; some of them are reasoned and informed, too many of them either superficial or passionately prejudiced (see box). Edwin Reischauer, 57, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, who now teaches Japanese history and politics at Harvard, has written a different Viet Nam book. True to its title, it ranges far beyond that country. Despite Reischauer's severe strictures against U.S. policy, it is a...