Joseph Heller's work, Catch-22, is an unequivocal satire on postmodern American life, with messages of dissident revolt that were well suited to the decade in which it appears. Heller is almost systematic in the issues he touches: the frustration of the individual up against powerful and faceless bureaucracies; the anticommunist purges of the Cold War and its smug hypocrisies; and strong antiwar issues that dominated postmodern America. In Heller's work, escaping these traps and inconsistencies of government is essential in the pursuit of moral and self-preservation. After all, "The enemy," as Yossarian puts it, "is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on." (Joseph Heller)

That about says it all. I had no idea what to expect when I picked up Heller's masterpiece. I was left breathless with my outlook on life completely thrown for a loop. No book has ever made me think and reevaluate as this one did. A perfect novel - it makes you laugh, it makes you sad, it makes you think and it stays with you. I reread Catch-22 regularly.

Catch 22 is like no other novel. It has its own rationale its own extraordinary character. It moves back and forth through OUR conception of time. The humor and overallvitality and power of the novel create the master piece that is a catch 22.

If "God" had to equip us with an owner's manual for our bodies, this would be the book. This book is full of usefull information from cover to cover. I highley recommend it!

All I can say is "Wow". I did not expect to get this kind of a workout from this book, it's really heavy.

My neice and I read this a-page-at-a-time while on vacation. Now I'm buying it for her birthday. We enjoyed a daily chuckle and an occasional laugh out loud as we considered the musings of these insightful children. I have three babies of my own and my niece is a pre-med pediatric student. She and I identified with these letters and we wondered how God might answer. Our favorite: "Dear God; Maybe people in this world wouldn't kill each other so much if they had their own rooms. It works for my brother and me." If you have children under 10 and woder just what is going on in their busy minds, you HAVE to have a copy of this. If you don't have children and enjoy hearing the voice of innocence, you'll like this book too.

When Elwood, a young pig, finds an old broom leaning against a tree trunk he takes it to sweep his front step. What he doesn't realize it that the broom is the property of a witch who will do everything in her power to get it back. To Elwood's surprise and dismay, he finds that he can fly through the air on that old broom. Elwood wants to get rid of the broom as badly as the witch wants it back! Elwood And The Witch is a rollicking story of enchantment by Nicholas Heller which is superbly illustrated by Jos. A. Smith, and one that will hold young readers (ages 5 and up) total attention from first page to last! Also highly recommended are two earlier picturebooks by Nicholas Heller and Jos. Smith: Goblins In Green, and Ogres! Ogres! Ogres!: A Feasting Frenzy From A To Z.

This book is perfect for children. The illustrations are what first drew me in ... and after reading it, I found the book itself wonderful as well. The illustrations are hilarious and will hold a child's attention. I think this is a book that a child would read over and over again just to see the creative pictures of the green goblins and to read about what each of the goblins is wearing ... such as "Thompson trying some tulip underwear ..." It's a great book for kids (and adults). It will bring about many laughs. I highly recommend it!

If you want a glimpse of the famed Villa & its beauty take a look inside this book. The pages are beautiful & you can feel the ambiance as if you were living it in the moment!

the best play i've seen in my life!!!
with the actors who don't know whether any of the things they do is worthwhile and the audience who doesn't understand a single thing, it really touched me.
joseph heller's masterpiece, better than catch-22, it really reveals all the things important in one's life and bitterly tells the audience a story of truth, fiction and the meaning of life.

To be honest with all you gentle readers, I don't much admire War novels, nor do I stand by the title of my review. Generally, I believe War is truly Hell.

But last Winter, in the grips of a bout of quasi-depression-for-teens following a move to the most FLAT province in Canada, I truly thought I was in Hell. An e-mail friend suggested Catch-22 to use up edgy cabin-fever time. Now, let it be known that my attention span for most novels dwindles quickly, especially if the book is slow to pick up. While significantly slower to get 'into' than most of the writing I chase, Catch-22 sucked me in, like Alice down the rabbit hole. It is sharply funny, engaging, and chock full of delightful characters. The main character is a thinker; a young man disheartened by war and his own mortality. His name is Yossarian, and since reading this novel, he has stood out in my mind as being one of the most...sculpted... characters in the history of literature.

Put simply, this book is a satire about World War 2. Coming from a kid sickened by the very idea of war, I can say that this book is worth whatever bills you have to fork over for it. It's not about war, per se, but more about the human condition. In addition, it made me laugh a few times, something that only a few other works of fiction have ever been successful in accomplishing. I finished this book feeling oddly... renewed. If you're looking for something 'new' (or, so old it's new) and engaging, I heartily recommend 'Catch-22' by Joseph Heller.

I first read Catch-22 a few years ago, initially put off by the style of this book. For example, there is no true concept of Time, as you jump between the past and present continuously. Similarily there is very little unity between the chapters (when you first read it), as Heller jumps between Major Major Major's life story in between stories of Milo Minderbinder. If you are just a conventional reader who is looking for a fantastic or winding plot, this book is DEFINATELY not for you.

However, what make Catch-22 so great is the flexibility of the novel: I can pick it up and read any chapter I want to at any time and STILL be entertained by the events. Each chapter is more or less self-sustaining (save the first and the last chapters), creating an entirely different reading experience. With light (and occassionally dark) humor, the novel remains in high spirits and occassionally brings you abruptly back to earth into the grim reality of war.

I seriously believe if you DO NOT own this novel, you obviously have not been reading the proper literature all your life. So go buy it now, I can almost guarantee you will not be let down.

Usually I prefer shorter novels, ones in the 200-300 page range. However, at the recommendation of my friend, I decided to give Catch-22 and it's 450+ pages a chance. Looking back, I can't thank my friend enough for this recommendation.

Catch-22 follows the people and events surrounding one Captain Yossarian, a World War II bombadier stationed off Italy. All he wants to do is live while, through his eyes, everyone wants to kill him. Even the people on his side are out to kill him. As the number of missions he must fly keeps rising, Yossarian keeps coming up with new ways to avoid his inevitable death.

This book is littered with a cournicopia of interesting characters. Each one gets their own chapter (and in some cases, multiple chapters) and Joseph Heller manages to mesh them all together to form an interesting (albeit sometimes hard to follow) plot. At first it seems like the book isn't going to really go anywhere but before you know it, it's there.

This book gave me a good chuckle on numerous occassions. Whether it was one of Yossarian's crazy schemes to get sent home or the officers' constant struggle to gain recognition (and promotion), there is never a dull moment.

i once read an interview of joseph heller in which he stated he came up with the idea for novels by coming up with an opening sentence. assuming that to be true here, this is a novel about the jewish experience. when we view this book from that perspective, we have a better appreciation of it. we have gold, who is out trying to write a book about the jewish experience, continually rejecting his jewish heritage. it is not until the end when he finally embraces it.
the political humor is exaggerated and doesn't work as well as it did in catch 22 where the setting of war makes the absurd normal. his family life is archie bunker/michael like except for the very touching lunch between gold and his older brother sid. this conversation brought the family into focus.
other characters like liebowicz and his fiancee's father border on the ridiculous and don't add a lot to the story.
this is not vintage heller. suggest your reread catch 22 instead.

Good As Gold successfully transposes the anti-logic and hilarity of Catch-22 to the world of lecturing and high-level politics.

Politics is, of course, a natural home for Heller's sense of the ridiculous. And although the machinations of the White House staff seem absurd, they are also naggingly true-to-life. The book is actually too near the bone for comfort on occasion.

But it brings tears to the eyes, it's so funny.

Gold at home with his extended family (where he spends much of the novel) suffering their babbling insanity is supremely comical. No matter how successful he is, they just treat him like dirt. And he has to grit his teeth.

These are hilarious characters and you just feel a touch embarrassed for whomever they were based on. Because they're too real to be entirely fictional... Surely.

Excellent, intelligent, funny, thought-provoking novel. But it's probably safer to not read it on the train. People might stare while you lose your composure.

It so apropos today. Bruce Gold has a job at the White House... to make sure the politicians say absolutely nothing of any importance at all, but sound like they are. This book is biting. Hilarious. I have read all his books and oddly enough while I loved Catch-22, and Something Happened, this one sticks with me. It is all about the Orwellian newspeak which I seem to hear everywhere these days. But done with a wicked sense of humour. Laugh out loud funny. The best political satire I have ever read.