Catch-22 - Softcover

Heller, Joseph

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0552097551 ISBN 13: 9780552097550

Publisher: Corgi, 1985

Synopsis

Fifty years after its original publication, Catch-22 remains a cornerstone of American lit-erature and one of the funniest--and most celebrated--novels of all time. In recent years it has been named to "best novels" lists by Time, Newsweek, the Modern Library, and the London Observer. Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy--it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he's assigned, he'll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved. Since its publication in 1961, no novel has matched Catch-22's intensity and brilliance in depicting the brutal insanity of war. This fiftieth-anniversary edition commemorates Joseph Heller's masterpiece with a new introduction by Christopher Buckley; personal essays on the genesis of the novel by the author; a wealth of critical responses and reviews by Norman Mailer, Alfred Kazin, Anthony Burgess, and others; rare papers and photos from Joseph Heller's personal archive; and a selection of advertisements from the original publishing campaign that helped turn Catch-22 into a cultural phenomenon. Here, at last, is the definitive edition of a classic of world literature.

About this title

Review

""Catch-22" is the only war novel I've ever read that makes any sense." Harper Lee"

One of the greatest anti-war books ever written. "Vanity Fair""

One of the most bitterly funny works in the language . . . Explosive, bitter, subversive, brilliant. The New Republic"

To my mind, there have been two great American novels in the past fifty years. Catch-22 is one. 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"

It s the rock and roll of novels . . . There s no book like it. . . . Surprisingly powerful. Norman Mailer, Esquire"

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"

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"

One of the greatest anti-war books ever written. Vanity Fair"

"Catch-22 is the only war novel I've ever read that makes any sense." --Harper Lee

"One of the most bitterly funny works in the language . . . Explosive, bitter, subversive, brilliant." --The New Republic

"To my mind, there have been two great American novels in the past fifty years. Catch-22 is one." --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

"It's the rock and roll of novels . . . There's no book like it. . . . Surprisingly powerful." --Norman Mailer, Esquire

"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

"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

"One of the greatest anti-war books ever written." --Vanity Fair

Book Description

One of the great novels of the twentieth century -- a satirical indictment of military madness and stupidity, and the desire of the ordinary man to survive it.

Edition details

• Publisher: Corgi
• Publication date: 1985
• ISBN 10: 0552097551
• ISBN 13: 9780552097550
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English