At the heart of Joseph Heller's bestselling novel, first published in 1961, is a satirical indictment of military madness and stupidity, and the desire of the ordinary man to survive it. It is a tale of the dangerously sane Captain Yossarian, who spends his time in Italy plotting to survive. Yossarian is a bombardier in the 256th Squadron of the Army Air Forces during World War II, stationed on Pianosa, a fictionalised island in the Mediterranean between mainland Italy and Corsica. The squadron's assignment is to bomb enemy ...
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At the heart of Joseph Heller's bestselling novel, first published in 1961, is a satirical indictment of military madness and stupidity, and the desire of the ordinary man to survive it. It is a tale of the dangerously sane Captain Yossarian, who spends his time in Italy plotting to survive. Yossarian is a bombardier in the 256th Squadron of the Army Air Forces during World War II, stationed on Pianosa, a fictionalised island in the Mediterranean between mainland Italy and Corsica. The squadron's assignment is to bomb enemy positions in Italy and eastern France. Yossarian's mission is simply to stay alive.
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Add this copy of Catch-22 to cart. $400.00, new condition, Sold by Treehorn Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Santa Rosa, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1994 by Simon & Schuster.
Add this copy of Catch-22 to cart. $595.00, like new condition, Sold by Bronze Books rated 1.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Victorville, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1994 by Simon & Schuster.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in fine dust jacket. Signed by author. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. Audience: General/trade. Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1994 NY: Simon & Schuster, 1994 Firstà thus, first prnt. Signed by Heller on the title page. Preface by Heller for this edition. Unread copy in Fine condition in a Fine dustjacket with an archival cover. Sometimes identified as an anniversary edition, the 1994 trade and limited editions of Catch-22 were issued by Simon & Schuster to coincide with the publication of Closing Time, a "successor volume" as Heller called it, in which Yossarian is more than forty years older. Signed by the author..
One thing I hate in a work of fiction is a lot of "telling" over "action" but with Catch-22 I figured I had to be missing something that it was ME - after all, it is regarded as one of the greatest novels ever. Now, I understand that there are different styles when it comes to telling vs showing but this book so far has been ridiculous and I now know why I have tried 3 times unsuccessfully to get past the first few chapters. I am going to fight my way through it this time but not happily because I have been told for so many years by people whose literary opinions I respect that Catch 22 is the bee's knees. At some point, maybe the next chapter, or the chapter after that, I will get to the action. I know the story has action to it - I know there's a plot, because it's been made into a fine movie. And I know that some authors tell a little more than others and some readers enjoy a little telling with their action. But I have no idea what Heller is up to in the first 5 chapters of Catch 22. I've been told that the book is hilarious but if it is, it must be later on. The movie is very funny so that's what I'm hoping for. I normally would wait till I finish a book to review it but I am making a special exception for Catch 22 because so far it has been agonizingly boring.
Rick
Apr 12, 2016
Better than expected
The copy I received was better than expected. This book is a classic and a must to under stand the origin and meaning of "Catch-22" so commonly used in our language today.
David W
Aug 31, 2014
Sane insanity
Once you have read this book, one realises that the widespread use of "Catch 22" to describe a situation so often; could not be further from the truth of the definition as described in this book.
Read it, and enjoy.
Dr S
Nov 21, 2013
A Classic
There is nothing to review. A Great book and a Great writer. I lent my copy and never got it back. No bookcase should be without one and so I have replaced mine. It should be read every three years on a regular basis for its humour and insight into life and human frailty.
Jack W
May 2, 2013
Heller's Book is a classic
Joseph Heller only wrote one book worth reading, but it is very good and a joy to read. My only paperbac k copy is long worn out and I had to have a good hard copy for my library.
