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Catch 22 - Accompanied by a SIGNED typescript of the opening passage from the book
by Heller, Joseph
- Used
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Harrogate, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Cape, 1962. A first edition, first printing published by Cape in 1962. A near fine book (spotting to the page edges) without inscriptions. In a near fine unclipped wrapper a few light handling marks to the rear panel. Five reviews to the rear panel. A really lovely example of the dust wrapper. Accompanying the book is a typescript with the opening line: "It was love at first sight", SIGNED in black ball point by Joseph Heller. 8.5 x 11" - headed 'The Texan' being Chapter One of 'Catch 22'. "It was love at first sight. The first time Yossarian saw the chaplain he fell madly in love with him..." Signed at the conclusion in black ink, "Joseph Heller". Both book and letter in excellent condition.
Synopsis
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.
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Details
- Bookseller
- John Atkinson Books
(GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 17076
- Title
- Catch 22 - Accompanied by a SIGNED typescript of the opening passage from the book
- Author
- Heller, Joseph
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- Cape
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1962
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
Terms of Sale
John Atkinson Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
John Atkinson Books
Biblio member since 2008
Harrogate, North Yorkshire
About John Atkinson Books
Offering rare and unique signed books not available elsewhere with constant changes in stock. Our showroom holds 100 rare first editions
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
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