Catch 22

Rating:
Summary: Hilarious
Review: It's just one of those books you don't want to put down. I'm real picky when it comes to books catching my interest, but this book made me laugh so hard on so many different occasions that it seemed like an episode of Seinfeld. I've never ever laughed out loud at a book until this one. I highly recommend this and can't wait to read the sequel Closing Time.

Rating:
Summary: Words cannot describe...
Review: When I first read the title of this book, it brought to mind all the wonderful comments I had heard about it. I knew I had to see what all the fuss was about. I was a bit intrigued after the first chapter, but I wasn't quite sure it was worth all the hype. As the book went on, I began to dislike it more and more, loving it all the same. It drove me nuts with every turn of a page. I was immediately thrown off by the absurd conversations depicted. I didn't understand how you could only go see someone in their office when they weren't there. But, I quickly warmed up to the idea that the book was just not going to make sense. The whole concept behind Catch-22 is that there is no logic; you have to find a way to use the illogical ways of the system to your advantage. Though I complained throughout most of my reading, I can say that I definitely enjoyed the book. It's one of those that will mess with your head; you just can't let it get to you. However, if you are planning on reading it, I would make one suggestion: make a list of characters and short descriptions as you read, or print a list from the internet. There are about 38 characters, not including some minor ones. If you do not find some way to keep them straight, you will find yourself flipping back pages all the time to remember who someone is.

Rating:
Summary: I've ONLY READ HALF THE BOOK! Hehe
Review: Ok, as you've read, I've only read half of the book, Catch 22, but I think that it's wonderful! For those who read this book, I think that you will find it incredibly funny or incredibly weird. In my case, I found it incredibly funny. It is about Yossarian, a bombardier in the war (which one, I forget, hehe), and his life there with INCREDIBLY hilarious friends. I can't wait to finish this book, and I hope that everyone will at least attempt to read it...I'll go finish it now.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful satire of the military machine
Review: As a long-term prisoner, I'm frequently struck with the comical absurdity of the rigid rules and manner in which adult human beings interact inside the federal bureau of prisons. It doesn't matter whether one is held at USP Leavenworth, or the federal prison camp at FPC Montgomery. A pecking order of personnel exists in every institution which mandates that staff members who want to advance must like the boots of their supervisors, enforce and support every rule assiduously regardless of the ridiculousness of the rule itself. No staff member can befriend or fraternize with a prisoner. Although prison guards fancy titular titles like correctional professionals, they not only fail to "correct" anything, but they absolutely thwart the progress of individuals who aspire to grow. Living as a prisoner places one in a perennial catch-22.

I had heard the term "catch - 22" for years, and I knew there was a book of the same name. That's all I knew. Then, one afternoon while listening to National Public Radio, probably NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, or Radio Times, I heard one of the guests describing Joseph Heller's Catch - 22 as an exceptionally great American novel. I was almost finished with an Anthony Robbins self-help book when I heard the NPR interview, so I walked to the prison library to check it out. Heller's Catch - 22, a Voltaire-like satire of the military's rigidity had me laughing from page one.

Heller uses a dry wit to poke fun at the obsequious, phony interactions between military personnel. As Voltaire's Candid brought to surface the hypocrisy that comes with institutional thought patterns in general, and organized religion in particular, Heller makes readers laugh by bringing his protagonist into contact with his superiors, his equals, his subordinates, and civilians. As a federal prisoner, I live in the midst of the same culture Heller describes. Catch - 22 reminds readers that institutions and the insular culture they propagate cause many of the personnel who work for institutions to forget that we're all human beings and not part of a bureaucratic machine.

Heller uses each chapter in Catch - 22 to dramatize another ludicrous episode of military life. We laugh while reading how individuals become blinded by their positions and the power that comes with rank. In several chapters we follow one ingenious military man as he exploits the greed of human nature to build a massive military-sanctioned black market enterprise, the syndicate, in which "everyone has a share"; enabling them to profit through layered global transactions that frequently deal with war-time enemies. In other chapters Heller entertains us by exposing the insecurities and pettiness of high-ranking officers; it's funny to see those whom the officers belittled and stepped on earlier become direct superiors later in the novel.

Heller's Catch - 22 is so powerful that he book's title became a dictionary work defining paradox. It not only made me laugh, but also inspires me as a writer. One day I hope to emulate Heller and Voltaire by writing a satire in the same vein, exposing the absurdity and waste of the criminal justice system in general, and prisons in particular.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful satire of the military machine
Review: ...I had heard the term "catch - 22" for years, and I knew there was a book of the same name. That's all I knew. Then, one afternoon while listening to National Public Radio, probably NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, or Radio Times, I heard one of the guests describing Joseph Heller's Catch - 22 as an exceptionally great American novel. I was almost finished with an Anthony Robbins self-help book when I heard the NPR interview, so I walked to the prison library to check it out. Heller's Catch - 22, a Voltaire-like satire of the military's rigidity had me laughing from page one.

Heller uses a dry wit to poke fun at the obsequious, phony interactions between military personnel. As Voltaire's Candid brought to surface the hypocrisy that comes with institutional thought patterns in general, and organized religion in particular, Heller makes readers laugh by bringing his protagonist into contact with his superiors, his equals, his subordinates, and civilians. As a federal prisoner, I live in the midst of the same culture Heller describes. Catch - 22 reminds readers that institutions and the insular culture they propagate cause many of the personnel who work for institutions to forget that we're all human beings and not part of a bureaucratic machine.

Heller uses each chapter in Catch - 22 to dramatize another ludicrous episode of military life. We laugh while reading how individuals become blinded by their positions and the power that comes with rank. In several chapters we follow one ingenious military man as he exploits the greed of human nature to build a massive military-sanctioned black market enterprise, the syndicate, in which "everyone has a share"; enabling them to profit through layered global transactions that frequently deal with war-time enemies. In other chapters Heller entertains us by exposing the insecurities and pettiness of high-ranking officers; it's funny to see those whom the officers belittled and stepped on earlier become direct superiors later in the novel.

Heller's Catch - 22 is so powerful that he book's title became a dictionary work defining paradox. It not only made me laugh, but also inspires me as a writer. One day I hope to emulate Heller and Voltaire by writing a satire in the same vein, exposing the absurdity and waste of the criminal justice system in general, and prisons in particular.

Rating:
Summary: the catch is catch 22
Review: Although critically acclaimed as " An Apocalyptic Masterpiece" by the Chicago Tribune the absence of an on going plot prevents the reader from being consistently interested. Which thus at times gets a little boring to read after a while. However it's hilarious satire and distinguished characters makes this novel a must read.

Rating:
Summary: good
Review: The Book Catch 22 by Joseph Heller is novel about a young man named Yossarian who is a bomber in the war. He is a scared, weak drunk who hates being a bomber in the war. He is afraid of dying and does anything in his power to not have fly missions. He faked a liver problem and went to the hospital for a few weeks to just relax, hit on the nurses and talk to other patients. One time he even faked being someone else dying and talked to the guy's family just so the doctor wouldn't tell that Yossarian wasn't actually sick. Heller portrays the whole unit Yossarian is in and everyone he meets to be sort of odd and a little crazy. Most the captains and people of rank are alcoholics and do something to take advantage of their positions in the military. For example Major de Coverly kidnaps Italian laborers and goes to cities to get apartments for officers and enlisted men to go on leaves. The main purpose of these leaves is to visit prostitutes and get drunk. I feel that Heller portrays everyone in the book to be a joke, and I think he shows his feelings about war through these characters.
Catch 22 is a good book but a confusing one you need to pay attention to all the characters because they all seem to have a story to go along with them and in some way they connect to Yossarian. Heller furthers the complexity by jumping from character to character and from scene to scene. Catch 22 is a funny novel with a lot of good humor about life and the war.

Rating:
Summary: Self sacrificing yossarian, and the Great American Novel
Review: Catch 22 is a book about a great American bomb squadron during World War II. The book is about what it is like to be an American pilot in another country during the war. Yossarian, who is the main character of the book, is basically a very crazy person just because of all the experiences he has had with war. He has seen so many of his friend die that he does not want to fly on any other missions because he thinks that he will die. He is very nervous as to what will happen in the future, so he basically goes into the hospital so he does not have to go on any other missions. One of the main problems is that the number of required missions keeps getting raised, which means for him that he will be stuck there until he gets them done, but he does not want to go on another mission and refuses.
During the book, Yossarian comes up with many plans to help him get out of the war and to get back home. All of the plans that he makes up, always get destroyed because of catch 22. Catch 22 is a kind of statement or rule that the men in the war have come up with for certain circumstances they are put under. Every time he tries to get out of the war, there is always someone or something that is stopping him, and that is the catch. Eventually toward the end of the book, some of the higher ranked men ask him to fly the less dangerous missions, and they will have other men fly the dangerous ones in his place. He still disagrees with this because he does not want the men to be put in a spot where they see the same that he has seen. This is Yossarians main problem in the book. He wants to save all of the men in the war from dying or from seeing the horrible sights of the war that he has seen. This would mean that in order for Yossarian to save the men is for him to fly the dangerous missions. Every time he flies the missions, he is getting more insane because he is putting himself in the places that the other men would die in. This for him is self sacrifice, and that is what is making him so insane throughout the book.
During the book, Joseph Heller, the author, does a great job in explaining the circumstances and events that happen in war. He does a very great job in describing all of the characters and how they all feel. He also relates all of the feelings of the characters, to the real life feelings that people would have while in war. The main theme of the story is that Yossarian has to sacrifice himself in order to save the other men in the war. This is the problem, because it makes him more insane throughout the book, but in order for him to save the men, he is forced to choose one of the two things that are put in front of him, and that is the catch. Throughout the book overall, Yossarian has himself caught between two things that are both bad for him. So overall, the theme of this book gives a good idea as to what can happen to a man that is put in the horrible consequences of war. I think that the overall book is very well written, because the author can make the reader feel sad about the war one minute, and happy about it the next, and that is what is so great about the book.

Rating:
Summary: Did not like it, but it's a school project
Review: Catch -22 seemed like it would be interesting and different. From reading the book jacket this looked like an interesting book and I looked forward to reading it. As I was reading it, I changed my mind; I thought that this was a terrible book.

The book took place during WWII. The main character was Yossarian, who tried to run away from anything that he thought would turn into a problem. He never faced his fears or responsibilities. Whenever he did something that he thought was good something else happened and wound up causing something bad to happen. Damned if you do damned if you don't either way you don't win. So much so that the term "being in a Catch-22 situation" has become a part of everyday language.

Snowden was a friend and inspiration for Yossarian. By the end of the book Yossarian had to choose between himself and others. Yossarian cared about this boy very much. Snowden's wartime death shocked him. He had always run away from the missions, he never dropped bombs, he just got the air hours on his record. He hated being in the army and wanted to leave, he did not want to die. Yet after his friend died he decided to help hid friends and run away.

For most of the book Yossarian is a patient in a military hospital. All he does when he is there is pick on the staff and other patients. But when his friend Orr picks on Yossarian he gets mad, but never defends himself. He is afraid to die. When he is in the hospital he acts like everyone is out to kill him and thinks that all the people in the hospital are crazy.

I think Yossarian was a capable person who got in his own way when he tried to do anything. He would run from his responsibilities instead of facing them. At the end of the book he proved to himself that he was running from his responsibilities and finally ran toward them. He faced his responsibilities by going to help his friends when he rejected an offer that he had been asking for because he didn't want to lie. Until then he had been a very selfish man and only wanted to save himself and his close friends in the process.

I think that this book was too long and that it could have been better in less words. This book did not hit home with me as I thought it would.

Rating:
Summary: It's quite a catch, that catch-22
Review: Bombardier Yossarian can be grounded because he's crazy, but if he asks to be grounded he will be declared sane and fit to fly; Major Major will permit any man to visit him in his office...as long as he isn't there; and Colonel Korn's education sessions only permit the men to ask questions who never do. These are just a few examples of the roundabout logic, self-defeating reasoning, and frustrating paradoxes that infest the text of Catch-22. Set in final months of World War II, Joseph Heller's novel depicts a world where the human language has become obsolete. Hardly a single exchange takes place that doesn't contain some form of self-contradiction or circular reasoning. Heller's stories of the horrors of war are a satire that is at one-moment whimsical and acidic the next.
Featuring an abundant cast of memorable characters, Catch-22 is a war novel that is much more. It is an allegory, a collection of running themes and recurring storylines. Told in a nonlinear storytelling style, Heller's novel captivates and demands attention, making reference to events in casual passing, only to return to them in increased detail. During an education session in Chapter 4, Yossarian, the book's protagonist, makes passing reference to Snowden, a man killed during a mission in which he was in charge. This incident is returned to with increasing detail as the story progresses, and it is in the book's blood-drenched climax that the full horrors of the event are recounted.
One recurring theme in Heller's novel is faith. The character Chaplain Tappman is the ideal vehicle for Heller's musings; he constantly preaches the word of God, questioning The Almighty's existence all the while. On the subject of the bible, Tappman recalls one soldier asking, "Did it indeed seem probable...that the answers to the riddles of creation would be supplied by people too ignorant to understand the mechanics of rainfall?" Yossarian also offers his two cents on the matter in Chapter 18, referring to a certain Supreme Being as "'a colossal, immortal blunderer,'" saying, "'When you consider the opportunity and power He had to really do a job, and then look at the stupid, ugly mess He made of it instead, His sheer incompetence is almost staggering. It's obvious he never met a payroll. Why, no self-respecting businessman would hire a bungler like Him as even a shipping clerk!'" Its insights like these that make Catch-22 the joy it is.
This questioning of faith and religion is justified, particularly in the environment of war, where ruthlessness and corruption are the status quo. Heller creates a world where a redeeming character is a rare and unusual blessing. Many of the book's characters are so self-absorbed it's a wonder how they came to men of respected standing in the first place. Colonel Cathcart, one of the story's central antagonists, is a prime example. A brown-nosing, elitist, social climber, He cares more about getting his picture into the next edition of the Saturday Evening Post than the well-being of his own men. If it weren't for the characters' military titles, one would hardly know this was a book about war at all. Heller doesn't glorify war or hold it on a pedestal, and it is through this jaded perspective that his reader begins to understand what war is really about.
By the end of Catch-22, I had been run through a full gamut of emotions. I laughed at the irrational interrogation of Chaplain Tappman in Chapter 36, and I felt a sickness in the pit of my stomach as Yossarian witnessed poverty, death, and desperation wandering through The Eternal City in Chapter 39. Catch-22 is a thought-provoking, entertaining piece of literature, and its declaration as a modern-day classic is well-deserved to say the least.