Rating: 
Summary: My favorite book
Review: To those who haven't read this book and are looking for some details, there are plenty of them beneath this review. The purpose of this review, however, is two-fold: First, I think everyone should have to read this book at least once - so if you're pondering about it - READ IT! Secondly, if any of the people on this list gave it 1 star, please ignore their words. They put the 1 star out of spite - probably because the novel made them think. This novel is the real deal. The characters will never be replaced. The images can never be erased...
Rating:
Summary: This book is the word of god
Review: ...this book is wonderful, i keep a copy of it by my bed and rub it on my chest. Oh beautiful baby.
Rating:
Summary: a literary tour-de-force
Review: powerful, wonderful, visceral, blasphemous, terrifying, hilarious...never has a novel been written with such skill and sytle. it is rare that you squirm and writhe in horror at heller's all-too-real descriptions and then a paragraph later laugh out loud. never has novel elicited so many emotions at once. the power and depth of this masterpeice has to be read carefully and re-read to fully comprehend it's sheer brilliance. i recommend it to anyone who can take it. (by the way, if you're looking for the best chapter, try "The Eternal City.")
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful reading experience!
Review: Heller takes a unique look at war and showcases different personalities and perspectives. This story spurs many philosophical and social discussions. With this novel, you can dissect meaning or you can enjoy the story for face value. As usually is the case, don't expect the movie to compare with the book.
Rating:
Summary: The greatest book ever written
Review: My one-line summary says it all. This is the best-written book ever. The characters are unforgettable, the setting is amazingly real, and the plot twists and turns, skipping around until it is on complete picture. Yossarian proves that often the people called crazy are the sanest ones.
Rating: 
Summary: A necessary book for any serious-minded, future enlistee!
Review: Catch-22 did everything that Joseph Heller wanted. Moreover, it did exactly what a classic should do: it makes you think. Why do we go to war? Why do we kill? Why did we follow the insanity of war that pervaded the twentieth century? I admire Mr. Heller for this. However, what if Hitler and the Nazi's overran the world because the allies did not find the rational to destroy or stop them. It is doubtful that any such book would have ever been written, let alone even discussed. There would be no free speech, no freedom of assembly or of religion - among other liberties. Yossarian would not be able to enjoy sleeping with Sheisskopf's wife because he would most likely be sent to a prison camp to die. And because the world still has a Saddam in control, killing will remain. I enjoyed the book because I am thinking about enlisting, and the book challenges me to consider that which is usually ignored. The author's reasoning forces me to deal with the issue of killing another human and why I would follow orders to do so. In the US and other countries soldiers willingly vow to defend their constitution to death. Can anyone say that all those who had ever enlisted were insane? Thomas Aquinas grappled with the hypocrisies of war, and derived reasoning on Just War in his treatise. Yossarian reflects what is very much prevalent in the twentieth century: the 'let-me-get-mine,' self-preserving disposition. Heller underestimates human character - intentionally or not. His crack on leadership is humorous, but not convincing. In reality, leaders - whether in the military of democracies or in democratic governments - for the most part are sane and intelligent enough to make wise and justifiable decisions. The book is excellent for its provocation. However, one should also take the other extreme. James Webb's Fields of Fire is an excellent novel depicting an USNA graduate as a Marine in Vietnam. The character in the end rebukes all the draft dodgers and protesters at an Ivy League school, calling them cowards and hypocrites for not protecting the same freedoms they were exercising and that other people were willing to die for. In all, Catch-22 either provokes praise or rebuke. The style is its own, as is the content. Whatever the opinion, enjoy the book for where it can take you. (Five stars for content and aim; one star taken away for the laboring style and uneasy transitions.)
Rating:
Summary: Take it with a grain of salt
Review: This is a wonderful book if you don't just put it down and decide never to listen to anyone again. It presents the "A person is smart, people are stupid" viewpoint brilliantly and is addictive and a wonderful read (pgs 85-91 are the best); but the worldview it mocks has something to say too. I recommend reading Kurt Vonnegut's _Cat's Cradle_, which defends lies and organizations, either immediately before or immediately after this to get a little balance.
Rating:
Summary: An entirely different experience
Review: Although at first, Catch 22 may be hard to get into, with its short incomplete clips of scenes and overwhelming number of characters, it is well worth the read. Catch 22 is a catchy book filled with satire for war and its happenings. Highly suggested.
Rating: 
Summary: A bomb
Review: This is one of those books that everyone reads and pretends to like because everyone else has read it and says it's really funny. It has its moments, but it's not a very good book--that is, if you believe an interesting plot, interesting characters, and good writing style are the determining factors of a good book.
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: This book is a lot deeper than it may seem if one gives it only a casual brush. It concentrates on the evils of war (its absurdity) by creating a text with little concrete plot, shifting time, and characters who are as senseless as war itself. Heller makes his point very clearly, and this novel deserves to be regarded as a classic. Comparisons with Slaughterhouse-Five are almost certain to arise; Vonnegut's novel is the stronger of the two, but Heller should not be underestimated in any way. The message of this novel, which is developed slowly as Heller leads the leader up to a spilling secret, is plain; for a lover of peace and wry humor, this is an excellent piece to read. For a lover of war and conflict, however, this is a novel that should certainly be read; if everyone could be lead to see Heller's point of view, maybe the world would be a safer, better place for "nuts" like Yossarian.
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