Books: A Borderline Bismarck

I JOINED THE RUSSIANS (306 pp.)—Count Heinrich von Einsledel—Yale University ($4).

"Name and rank?" For a moment the young German fighter pilot, shot down near Stalingrad, wondered if it was safe to admit to the Russian interrogator that he was Count Heinrich von Einsiedel, the great-grandson of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. But his hesitation lasted only a moment: von Einsiedel gave his name and famous pedigree.

"Bismarck? Bismarck?" The interrogator shouted with excitement, and rushed to a phone to tell his superiors what a fancy bird had dropped into their laps. From that...