Item specifics Condition: Acceptable: A book with obvious wear. May have some damage to the cover but integrity still intact. The binding ... Read more ISBN-10: 0684833395 Format: Trade Paper, Book ISBN-13: 9780684833392 Publication Year: 2004 Author: Joseph Heller Language: English ISBN: 9780684833392 Synopsis 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 ISBN-10 0684833395 ISBN-13 9780684833392 Key Details Author Joseph Heller Number Of Pages 453 pages Format Paperback Publication Date 2004 Language English Publisher Simon Schuster Reviews " Catch-22 is the only war novel I've ever read that makes any sense." Harper Lee 'It's the rock and roll of novels . . . There's no book like it. . . . Surprisingly powerful.' Norman Mailer, Esquire 'One of the most bitterly funny works in the language . . . Explosive, bitter, subversive, brilliant.' The New Republic '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 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 'To my mind, there have been two great American novels in the past fifty years. Catch-22 is one.' Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly '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 Chicago Sun-TimesAn apocalyptic masterpiece. John W. AldridgeThe New York Times Book ReviewA monumental artifact of contemporary literature, almost as assured of longevity as the statues on Easter Island. Robert BrusteinThe New Republic One of the most bitterly funny works in the language...explosive, bitter, subversive, brilliant. ??It i??s the rock and roll of novels . . . There i??s no book like it. . . . Surprisingly powerful.?? Norman Mailer, Esquire ??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.â?? Nelson Algren, The Nation ??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.â?? Studs Terkel, Chicago Sun-Times ??To my mind, there have been two great American novels in the past fifty years. Catch-22 is one.â?? Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly ??Wildly 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 Certain data records 2016 Bowker. Rights in cover images reserved by owners.