Discover Joseph Heller's hilarious and tragic satire on military madness, and the tale of one man's efforts to survive it. It's the closing months of World War II and Yossarian has never been closer to death. Stationed in an American bomber squadron off the coast of Italy, each flight mission introduces him to thousands of people determined to kill him. But the enemy above is not Yossarian's problem - it is his own army intent on keeping him airborne, and the maddening 'Catch-22' that allows for no possibility of escape. ...
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Discover Joseph Heller's hilarious and tragic satire on military madness, and the tale of one man's efforts to survive it. It's the closing months of World War II and Yossarian has never been closer to death. Stationed in an American bomber squadron off the coast of Italy, each flight mission introduces him to thousands of people determined to kill him. But the enemy above is not Yossarian's problem - it is his own army intent on keeping him airborne, and the maddening 'Catch-22' that allows for no possibility of escape. 'The greatest satirical work in the English language' Observer 'The most devastating satire ever written about the lunacy of war and military bureaucracy' Antony Beevor INTRODUCED BY HOWARD JACOBSON
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Seller's Description:
First edition of Heller's classic first book. Octavo, original blue cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Albert Raman, Best wishes to you. Joseph Heller 3/20/80 New York." The recipient was a lawyer and well-known book collector. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with light rubbing. Jacket design by Paul Bacon. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional example with noted provenance. "Catch-22, Joseph Heller's first and best-known novel, depicts a military world turned upside down. In Heller's World War II, a supplies manager has more power than a general, and anyone seeking a discharge on the grounds of insanity is declared sane enough to keep on fighting. When the novel appeared in 1961, World War II veterans appreciated its satire of the military bureaucracy and chaos of war. By the mid-1960's, it had become a cult classic among counterculture activists for its biting indictments of war. Many consider the novel to be the definitive statement of the modern antiwar position. The phrase 'Catch-22', symbolizing the absurdity of all institutional logic, has become a permanent part of our language" (NYPL Books of the Century 177). Basis for the 1970 film directed by Mike Nichols. The cast included Alan Arkin, Bob Balaban, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin, Olimpia Carlisi, Art Garfunkel, Jack Gilford, Charles Grodin, Bob Newhart, Anthony Perkins, Paula Prentiss, Martin Sheen, Jon Voight, and Orson Welles.
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine. The dedication copy of one of the most iconic novels of the 1960s, with a lengthy inscription from Joseph Heller on the front free endpaper to editor Robert Gotlieb, "May 24, 1995. Dear Bob, I want you to have a copy of this very expensive edition of a novel with which you (and Richard Stern) are now eternally linked, particularly since not many people have wanted to pay the very stiff price and some copies have come to me gratis. Best, Joe (East Hampton, N.Y.)."For the new edition, Heller wrote a preface about the initial publication of the novel and changed the dedication. In copies printed from 1961 to 1993, the dedication was to Heller's wife and children. For this edition, billed a few years prematurely as a 35th anniversary edition, Heller changed the dedication to read, "To Candida Donadio, literary agent, and Robert Gottlieb, editor." In the preface, Heller writes about the change: "I embrace the opportunity afforded no to dedicate this new edition to both of them, as colleagues and allies with talents that were of immeasurable value." Gottlieb, while a young editor at Simon & Schuster, signed Heller to a publishing contract and then worked for several years to turn the manuscript into a publishable novel. The title was Catch-18. As the long-in-progress WWII satire neared publication, Leon Uris, a best-selling writer, announced that his forthcoming novel was titled Mila 18. Heller needed a new number, and Gottlieb came up with Catch-22, a term that came to mean a paradoxical situation. In his memoir, Avid Reader, Gottieb describes getting the first seventy-five pages of the novel in 1957. "I was knocked out by the voice, the humor, the anger. We offered Joe five hundred dollars as an option payment." (In the preface here, Heller remembers it as $750. ) The Richard Stern referenced in the inscription wrote a negative review of Heller's first book in the New York Times. Stern wrote that the book "gasps for want of craft and sensibility." Obviously, despite the success of the book, the riches he got from it, and the passing of more than 30 years, a few harsh paragraphs from the author of Golk and other books, still rankled in Heller's brain. He used this inscription and his preface to settle an old score. Simon & Schuster reissued Catch-22 in hardcover and in this signed, limited edition to coincide with the publication of Closing Time, a sequel to the original novel. This is copy number 524, also signed by Heller on the limitation page. Bound in publisher's original blue cloth with spine lettered in gilt. Near Fine with light rubbing to lettering on spine, in a Near Fine publisher's slipcase with light soiling, scuffing and wear. An important association copy.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good in Very Good jacket. 443 pp. First edition, first printing stated. Signed by Joseph Heller on the front free endpaper, with a lengthy inscription to a former owner. Bound in publisher's blue cloth with spine lettered in white. Very Good+ with bump to bottom edge of front board, thin strip of staining to bottom edge of covers from old-style dust jacket sleeve, spotting to front paste down and offsetting to rear endsheets. In a Very Good unclipped dust jacket, which exhibits edge wear, heavy waviness to the top portions and light, associated creasing. A nice copy for the first printing, signed by the author.
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Seller's Description:
Near fine. Rebound in full blue morocco, raised bands, a.e.g. N.Y. : Simon & Schuster, 1961. Fine. Very early presentation copy, dated Sept. 11, 1961-"To Milton Perlman-With all good wishes, and sincere gratitude for your help and encouragement in these pre-publication days. Joe Heller".
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Seller's Description:
Very good in very good dust jacket. Signed by author. 443 p. 22 cm. Simon and Schuster, 1961. Hardcover. Book Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. First Edition, First Printing SIGNED Joseph Heller on the ffp. An attractive dustjacket that is rich in color with slight wear to the edges. This original FIRST ISSUE DUSTJACKET has the $5.95 price present with no chips or pieces missing. The book is in nice shape. The binding is tight, and the boards are good with slight wear to the edges. The pages are clean with no writing, marks or bookplates in the book. The first 3 pages have a 1 inch tear at the lower right corner. Overall, a very nice copy of this TRUE FIRST EDITION SIGNED by the author. Signed by Author
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. First edition. Bookplate front fly, and endpapers skinned where an old jacket protector was affixed there, thus good only in good dustwrapper with evidence of glue and tape where the jacket was affixed. A presentable, if not exactly lovely copy. The author's first novel, whose satiric anti-war attitude set the tone for the 1960s, and whose title quickly became part of the language.
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. First edition, first printing. Bound in publisher's original blue cloth with spine lettered in white, red topstain. Near Fine with slight toning to spine and top edges of boards, minor soiling to rear board and trivial rubbing to tips. In a Near Fine unclipped dust jacket with trivial creases, subtle fading to spine, several small faint stains, and small tape repair at crown on verso. A great copy of the author's best-known work, a satirical novel of the absurdity of war set in World War II.
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine. A fantastic association copy of this deluxe reissue of Catch-22. This copy is inscribed to Nina Bourne, who was the advertising director at Simon and Schuster when Catch-22 was published. Signed by Heller on the limitation page, this copy is additionally inscribed on the front free endpaper by him, "Dear Nina, I want you to have a copy of this special edition of a novel with which you are now eternally associated, especially since there are not very many people who want to pay $125 to own one and some have come to me gratis. Also, it's possible you may not have yet seen your glorious name in the preface. Best, as always, Joe. May 24, 1995. East Hampton, N.Y." In the new introduction that Heller wrote for this edition, he credits Bourne for her creative ad campaign that helped get this first novel noticed. The New York Times' obituary for Bourne noted, "The campaign she created for Catch-22 is now regarded as a classic. Ms. Bourne was the most passionate in-house champion of the book, a darkly comic tale of World War II by a first-time novelist." Nina Bourne was close friends with Robert Gottlieb, the editor at Simon & Schuster who discovered Heller and worked with him for years on Catch-22. When Gottlieb left S&S for Knopf, Bourne went with him, which explains why Heller thought she might not have seen the preface to this edition. Gottlieb inherited this book when Bourne died in 2010 and it comes from his estate (with provenance). Simon & Schuster reissued Catch-22 in hardcover and in this signed, limited edition to coincide with the publication of Closing Time, a sequel to the original novel. Bound in publisher's original blue cloth with spine lettered in gilt, fading to spine cloth. Near Fine with light rubbing to lettering on spine, in a Near Fine publisher's slipcase with light soiling, scuffing and wear. An important association copy.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good in Good dust jacket. Blue cloth binding has traces of fading on edges and a small area on the spine top. No internal markings. Dustjacket has moderate edgewear which includes small tears and light crease lines. There are two small chips out at the head and tail of the spine. Spine shows some soiling / darkening.; 8vo 8"-9" tall; 443 pages.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good+ with no dust jacket. ADVANCE READING COPY. Very good+ or better copy in white printed wrappers. (Faintly discernible damping at bottom fore edge running through most the book. Not at all messy. Trace of toning at unprinted spine and front cover. Mild crease at bottom edge of rear cover. ) Uncommon advance issue of the author's acclaimed FIRST book.; 5 1/2" X 8 1/4"
One thing I hate in a work of fiction is a lot of "telling" over "action" but with Catch-22 I figured I had to be missing something that it was ME - after all, it is regarded as one of the greatest novels ever. Now, I understand that there are different styles when it comes to telling vs showing but this book so far has been ridiculous and I now know why I have tried 3 times unsuccessfully to get past the first few chapters. I am going to fight my way through it this time but not happily because I have been told for so many years by people whose literary opinions I respect that Catch 22 is the bee's knees. At some point, maybe the next chapter, or the chapter after that, I will get to the action. I know the story has action to it - I know there's a plot, because it's been made into a fine movie. And I know that some authors tell a little more than others and some readers enjoy a little telling with their action. But I have no idea what Heller is up to in the first 5 chapters of Catch 22. I've been told that the book is hilarious but if it is, it must be later on. The movie is very funny so that's what I'm hoping for. I normally would wait till I finish a book to review it but I am making a special exception for Catch 22 because so far it has been agonizingly boring.
Rick
Apr 12, 2016
Better than expected
The copy I received was better than expected. This book is a classic and a must to under stand the origin and meaning of "Catch-22" so commonly used in our language today.
David W
Aug 31, 2014
Sane insanity
Once you have read this book, one realises that the widespread use of "Catch 22" to describe a situation so often; could not be further from the truth of the definition as described in this book.
Read it, and enjoy.
Dr S
Nov 21, 2013
A Classic
There is nothing to review. A Great book and a Great writer. I lent my copy and never got it back. No bookcase should be without one and so I have replaced mine. It should be read every three years on a regular basis for its humour and insight into life and human frailty.
Jack W
May 2, 2013
Heller's Book is a classic
Joseph Heller only wrote one book worth reading, but it is very good and a joy to read. My only paperbac k copy is long worn out and I had to have a good hard copy for my library.
