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Summary: abbott and costello write an anti-war novel
Review: i don't know what's up with the one and two-star reviewers, but i guess it's the sign of the times. writer tony medina once said that america is the dumbest country in the world, and i'd have to agree. people have become so accustomed to the john grishams and steven kings that they cringe at the thought of reading something that might stimulate their minds, that may cause them to see the world differently...i love the way heller manipulates language throughout the novel. sometimes it's b.s.( like an abbott and costello " who's on first routine, where you never get the answer,cos you're not supposed to )others, it reveals alot about a country where truth and image can be manufactured, where nothing is ever what it seems... some parts of the book made me laugh out loud ( ex. the scene in the resteraunt when yossarian is having dinner with the italian girl and she tells him she doesn't want to sleep with him, then asks him if he wants to sleep with her and his response: " i just want to have dinner with you. " totally cracked me up. now the scene with the crab apples makes perfect sense ! and there were scenes in the novel that brought chills to my spine and left me outraged ( snowden's death and aarfy's nonchalant murder of a hooker and his blase confession of it, made me wonder are humans really intelligent forms of life, or just another notch on the food chain. this book will never be dated. its more than relevant today, now that we have a supreme-court appointed president and a conservative high court ready to wreck havoc on our freedoms. and most people are just sitting by and watching it happen like sheep. no one is getting angry. this book ranks among the catcher in the rye, the autobiograpy of malcolm x, on the road, and ellison's the invisible man as books that really touched me and made me think. and you can't get that from reality t.v
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Summary: The Devil Went Down to Pianosa
Review: Joseph Heller's Catch-22 is a modern masterpiece, an intricate, deliberate, perfect combination of wry sarcasm, raw wit, and bitter cynicism scattered amongst the lives of desperate men trying to live up to their ideals from within the greatest conflict of the modern age. Heller's text of Catch-22 is a recipe for delicious humor and refreshing insight that make the bitter pills he's pushing down your throat slide down so much more smoothly, almost too easily. As an author, Heller will not rest until you, as the reader, are his equal as a cynic. He pulls it off masterfully, too, his persuasion of patriots into perversion of their most beloved creeds, his destruction of the reader's regard for respected traditions and accepted notions about America. Through the words of the brash, self-centered Captain Yossarian as well as the from the perch of omniscient narrator, Heller tells it like it is (says he). The world is a petty place, and survival is job one. That Yossarian, as the antihero, would shamelessly sabotage the arrangement of a dangerous support mission rather than risk his neck to help out others reflects a Darwinian influence that resounds without compassion. "The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on," rants Yossarian as he argues with the overly intellectual Clevinger. Yossarian displays no qualms as he announces, with conviction, "It doesn't make a damned bit of difference who wins the war to someone who's dead." What makes Heller's work in this novel so excellent is the fact although his ideas are morally bankrupt and bleak, he masks their horrid faces masterfully with his ingenious strokes of hilarity. The outstanding comedy put forth by Catch-22 is surely enough proof that Joseph Heller is none other than the Devil. And we should all love him for it.
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Summary: Catch-22
Review: Catch-22 By Joseph Heller (463 pages) Book Description History teaches World War II from a bystander's point of view, when in reality the truth comes from the diction of the people that were actually there. Published first in 1955, Catch-22 is an incredible story of life during World War II and many stories of soldiers during battle. Although, there are handfuls of characters, the storyline follows the life of a young American bomber by the name of Yossarian, and his struggles to break free of the war. Life for everyone living near and around Yossarian off of the coast of Italy is tragic and very authentic. The men experience fear, love and hatred, murder, confusion, and the yearning desire to go home. Review Catch-22 is an astounding view of war, and its effects on its participants. Although slow and complicated at first, the conversations and humor make it a favorite read and one that can't be put down until finished. It shows the realities of World War II and how victory comes with consequences. Through Yossarian's stay in Italy, the reader becomes sympathetic to Yossarian and his comrades. They struggle through fear of the slightest things and are almost certain they will not arrive home alive. The men are classified as psychotic, and through their conversations the reader gains a sense of humor of all the many predicaments they get themselves into. Heller emphasizes the importance of every page through tricky conversations that requires the reader's devout attention. He doesn't leave one stone unturned. Catch-22 is very descriptive and not an easy read, but one that will leave the reader with better knowledge of life during World War II. It is a moving novel for both young and old, and reminds the reader that World War II will not be forgotten.
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Summary: Catch-22, a must read war book
Review: Book Description The novel Catch-22 shows a unique view of World War II. The Story is told in third person and focuses on a colorful character named Yossarian. It takes place in Italy during WWII. The men in the squadron attempt to do their missions and survive. However they keep getting caught in absurd rules that present a no-win situation. The story unfold turning from hilarious comedy to a serious plot. The book is very entertaining as the men try to beat the bureaucratic military system. Review Catch-22 provides extreme entertainment and with a wonderful plot and hilarious comedy. It is a classic satire. It provides a new point of view for war, showing the craziness and absurdities of war. The book starts off being kind of hard to follow with Heller's unique use of paradoxes and oxymoron's. That plus the fact that the story is not told in chronological order makes it a little rough at first. However once into the book it is one of the best books ever written. Catch-22 is a set of rules that the men in the airforce have to follow. At first some of them are confusing and contradicting, but once the reader has a feeling for the style it becomes funny. Everything contradicting everything else the characters soon go crazy. If one wishes to find out what a catch-22 really is then should read this awesome book by Joseph Heller.
Rating: 
Summary: a little predictable
Review: Heller's novel gave our language a new term, but the popularity of it should be tempered by its overriding flaw--it's contrived. But go ahead and read this book for entertainment, though I don't believe you will learn much or perceive insights into war, institutional behavior, etc.
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Summary: In-depth analysis for students
Review: Three new additions to Harold Bloom's 'Modern Critical Interpretations' ($36.95 each) series will reach high school into college levels, compiling critical articles from a variety of sources and offering the in-depth analysis students will need to assist on detailed reports of an author's single work. Joseph Heller's Catch 22 (0-7910-5927-8) provides articles which examine how the sane can survive under insane wartime circumstances; Elie Wiesel's Night (5924-3) gathers critical writings on his story of life in a Nazi concentration camp, and the focus on Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings (5665-1) considers the contents and impact of the three-volume epic fantasy. All include essays by notable critics who offer different interpretations and focus perfect for classroom discussion or essay pursuit.
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Summary: It's not about war, stupid
Review: When Joseph Heller's Catch-22 was published in the United States in 1961, many people believed that the book bashed war and the military. Returning the favor, many critics condemned the book. Some, however, defended Heller, contending that the book was in fact not about war or the military, but was a commentary on American society. Furthermore, Heller dwells on a few specific aspects of American society, like the emergence of mega-corporations. "Everyone in my book accuses everyone else of being crazy. Frankly I think that the whole society is nuts - and the question is: what does a sane man do in an insane society?" -Joseph Heller (AP) As Norman Podhoretz said in his essay, "Looking Back At Catch-22," Heller's real subject was the nature of American society at the time he wrote this book. But how? It sure seems as though this is a novel about war. The setting is in Italy during World War II. The characters fly combat missions on a daily basis. They act like soldiers. In fact, they are soldiers. So how can this novel not be about war? It is not about war because of the meaning buried within the narrative - the war serves only as a vehicle for Heller's message. But what is Heller's message? The novel jumps from place to place, almost illogically, perhaps like American society. So how do we figure out his message? By carefully reading the lines of text, and in between the lines, we see that Heller thinks that American society is crazy. "What would they do to me," he asked in confidential tones, "if I refused to fly them?" "We'd probably shoot you," ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen replied. "We?" Yossarian cried in surprise. "What do you mean, we? Since when are you on their side?" "If you're going to be shot, whose side do you expect me to be on?" ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen retorted. And perhaps this exchange between ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen and Yossarian is a commentary on how people in this country have no sense of loyalty to anything. Reading into his commentary, we see that Heller has lost hope for society. During the writing of this book, companies merged and "acquired" each other right and left. From this merger and acquisition frenzy came the term "corporate America." Once again, Heller deems this to be crazy, so he makes fun of it. In the book, Milo's syndicate, M&M Industries, represents one such large corporation. He claims that if the syndicate makes a profit then it is good for everyone. This is analogous to corporations that claim that if they merge, they will be able to provide a better product, which is better for the consumer. Well, in reality, it cuts jobs and thus creates larger profits for the corporation. Nonetheless, corporations present some damn good arguments for merging, just as Milo presents some damn good arguments for why the syndicate is good for everyone - "everyone gets a share" (Heller). Furthermore, M&M Industries exhibits some organized crime structure as well. Perhaps Heller is saying that the size and political power of these mega-corporations (which were nothing like the corporations today vis-à-vis BP-Amoco, Microsoft, AOL/Netscape-Time Warner, etc.) makes them too powerful, and that they can do anything that they please, legal, quasi-legal, or blatantly illegal, much like organized crime. To put it bluntly: it's not about war, stupid. What it is about is American society and how it is spiraling downward towards oblivion. Furthermore, Heller thinks he is the only sane one in an insane world - like Yossarian. Heller thinks that everyone is crazy, and so he broadcasts his message to everyone via his book - if they are sane enough to decode his message - a catch-22 in and of itself. "It used to shock me and alarm me and discourage me that there was a general decline of everything of value. But it doesn't surprise me anymore. It seems inevitable and natural and there's no way to resist it." -Joseph Heller (AP)
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Summary: ok but...
Review: this is an ok book, but the movie was much better, the book drags a little too much, you would also need to read it a few times to really understand what the author is trying to say.
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Summary: The Best Book Ever
Review: I started off reading Catch-22 slowly, not really getting into it, but that quickly changed. By the time I hit about page 110, I was hooked. From then on I spent all my free time reading it. This book is not only the best overall of books I've read, but it is by far the funniest. The hilarious schemes concocted by Milo to the hilariously sane logic of self-preservation provided by Yosarian make this book the best. That's all I have to say, read it, you'll love it.
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Summary: Ignore the length
Review: Ignore the length of this big book -- it's like a series of wacky SNL skits fused with a morbid and very cynical worldview, and it goes by very quickly....
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