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Catch-22
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Catch-22 Paperback - 1996

by Joseph L. Heller; Preface by Joseph L. Heller


About this book

Catch-22 is Joseph Heller’s first novel and his most acclaimed work. Set during World War II, the novel uses a distinctive non-chronological third-person omniscient narration, mainly focusing on the life of Captain John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bombardier. Occasionally, the narrator also shows us how other characters, such as the chaplain or Hungry Joe, experience the world around them. As the novel’s events are described from the different points of view through separate out-of-sequence storylines, the timeline of Catch-22 develops along with the plot.

The novel's title refers to a plot device that is repeatedly invoked in the story. Catch-22 starts as a set of paradoxical requirements whereby airmen mentally unfit to fly did not have to, but could not actually be excused. By the end of the novel, the phrase is invoked as the explanation for many unreasonable restrictions. “Catch-22” has since entered the English language and can be understood as an unsolvable logic puzzle, a difficult situation from which there is no escape.

Upon publication, the book was not a best seller in the United States. It was merely a cult favorite until the publication of the paperback edition in 1962, which set record sales — most likely benefitting from a national debate about the pointlessness of the Vietnam War. Catch-22 has since been ranked as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century by the Modern Library, one of the 20th century's top 100 novels by the Radcliffe Publishing Course, and one of the 100 greatest novels of all time by The Observer. 

From the publisher

"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.

First line

It was love at first sight.

First Edition Identification

Simon & Schuster first published Catch-22 in June of 1961. The first edition is bound in blue cloth, the top edges of its pages are stained red, and the statement “First Printing” appears on the copyright page. The dust jacket of the first edition has the original $5.95 price on the bottom of the front flap and author's picture on the back panel with no blurbs.

Details

  • Title Catch-22
  • Author Joseph L. Heller; Preface by Joseph L. Heller
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: Repri
  • Pages 464
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Simon & Schuster, New York
  • Date September 4, 1996
  • ISBN 9780684833392 / 0684833395
  • Weight 0.9 lbs (0.41 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.2 in (21.34 x 13.72 x 3.05 cm)
  • Ages 14 to 18 years
  • Grade levels 9 - 13
  • Reading level 1140
  • Library of Congress subjects War stories, World War, 1939-1945
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2004558446
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC
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Catch-22
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Catch-22

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Catch-22
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Catch-22
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Catch-22

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Catch-22 : 'Never Has a Book Been Laughed and Wept Over So Many Times'

Catch-22 : 'Never Has a Book Been Laughed and Wept Over So Many Times'

by Joseph Heller

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Catch-22 : 'Never Has a Book Been Laughed and Wept Over So Many Times'

Catch-22 : 'Never Has a Book Been Laughed and Wept Over So Many Times'

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Catch-22 : 'Never Has a Book Been Laughed and Wept Over So Many Times'

Catch-22 : 'Never Has a Book Been Laughed and Wept Over So Many Times'

by Joseph Heller

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ISBN 13
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Catch-22 : 'Never Has a Book Been Laughed and Wept Over So Many Times'

Catch-22 : 'Never Has a Book Been Laughed and Wept Over So Many Times'

by Joseph Heller

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Description:
Simon & Schuster, 1996. Paperback. Acceptable. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
$5.99
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Catch-22 : 'Never Has a Book Been Laughed and Wept Over So Many Times'

Catch-22 : 'Never Has a Book Been Laughed and Wept Over So Many Times'

by Joseph Heller

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ISBN 13
9780684833392
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Description:
Simon & Schuster, 1996. Paperback. Good. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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$5.99
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Catch-22 : 'Never Has a Book Been Laughed and Wept Over So Many Times'

Catch-22 : 'Never Has a Book Been Laughed and Wept Over So Many Times'

by Joseph Heller

  • Used
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  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 13
9780684833392
ISBN 10
0684833395
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Seattle, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$5.99
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Simon & Schuster, 1996. Paperback. Good. Missing dust jacket; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
$5.99
FREE shipping to USA