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Catch-22 is like no other novel. It is one of the funniest books ever written, a keystone work in American literature, and even added a new term to the dictionary. At the heart of Catch-22 resides the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero endlessly inventive in his schemes to save his skin from the horrible chances of war. His efforts are perfectly understandable because as he furiously scrambles, thousands of people he hasn't even met are trying to kill him. His problem is Colonel Cathcart, who keeps raising the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempts to excuse himself from the perilous missions that he is committed to flying, he is trapped by the Great Loyalty Oath Crusade, the hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule from which the book takes its title: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes the necessary formal request to be relieved of such missions, the very act of making the request proves that he is sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved. Catch-22 is a microcosm of the twentieth-century world as it might look to some one dangerously sane -- a masterpiece of our time.

Product Identifiers

PublisherSimon & Schuster

ISBN-100684833395

ISBN-139780684833392

eBay Product ID (ePID)848325

Product Key Features

Publication Year1996

Number of Pages464 Pages

LanguageEnglish

AuthorJoseph Heller

FormatPaperback

Dimensions

Item Height1 in

Item Weight15.6 Oz

Item Length8 in

Item Width5.2 in

Additional Product Features

GroupTrade

Dewey Edition22

ReviewsâItâs the rock and roll of novels . . . Thereâs no book like it. . . . Surprisingly powerful.â Norman Mailer, Esquire, 'It's the rock and roll of novels . . . There's no book like it. . . . Surprisingly powerful.' Norman Mailer, Esquire, 'Wildly original, brilliantly comic, brutally gruesome, it is a dazzling performance that will probably outrage nearly as many readers as it delights.' Orville Prescott, New York Times Book Review, âWildly original, brilliantly comic, brutally gruesome, it is a dazzling performance that will probably outrage nearly as many readers as it delights.â Orville Prescott, New York Times Book Review, âTo call it the finest comic novel of our day is faulting it. If Joseph Heller writes no other book, he will be well remembered for this apocalyptic masterpiece.â Studs Terkel, Chicago Sun-Times, 'One of the most bitterly funny works in the language . . . Explosive, bitter, subversive, brilliant.' The New Republic, âThis novel is not merely the best American novel to come out of World War II, it is the best American novel that has come out of anywhere in years.â Nelson Algren, The Nation, John W. AldridgeThe New York Times Book ReviewA monumental artifact of contemporary literature, almost as assured of longevity as the statues on Easter Island., " Catch-22 Is the only War Novel I've Ever Read That Makes Any Sense." Harper Lee, Chicago Sun-Timesan Apocalyptic Masterpiece., 'To call it the finest comic novel of our day is faulting it. If Joseph Heller writes no other book, he will be well remembered for this apocalyptic masterpiece.' Studs Terkel, Chicago Sun-Times, âTo my mind, there have been two great American novels in the past fifty years. Catch-22 is one.â Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly, 'This novel is not merely the best American novel to come out of World War II, it is the best American novel that has come out of anywhere in years.' Nelson Algren, The Nation, 'To my mind, there have been two great American novels in the past fifty years. Catch-22 is one.' Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly, Robert BrusteinThe New RepublicOne of the most bitterly funny works in the language...explosive, bitter, subversive, brilliant.

Publication Date1996-09-04

Lccn94-013984

Dewey Decimal813/.54