Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
The book is a satirical critique of military bureaucracy and the illogical nature of war, set during World War II. The story follows a U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bombardier stationed in Italy, who is trying to maintain his sanity while fulfilling his service requirements so that he can go home. The novel explores the absurdity of war and military life through the experiences of the protagonist, who discovers that a bureaucratic rule, the "Catch-22", makes it impossible for him to escape his dangerous situation. The more he tries to avoid his military assignments, the deeper he gets sucked into the irrational world of military rule.
The 33rd greatest book of all time
- Published
- 1961
- Nationality
- American
- Type
- Fiction
- Pages
- 450-550
- Words
- 174,269
- Original Language
- English
- Alternate Titles
- None
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This book is on the following 64 lists:
- 4th on The Ideal Library (Book)
- 5th on As if You Don't Have Enough to Read, Fiction Edition (New York Times)
- 5th on Koen Book Distributors Top 100 Books of the Past Century (themodernnovel.com)
- 5th on Waterstone's Books of the Century (LibraryThing)
- 7th on The Celebrity Reading List (Gardiner Public Library)
- 7th on The Modern Library | 100 Best Novels (Modern Library)
- 8th on Kanon na koniec wieku (Canon at the end of the century) (Rzeczpospolita (newspaper))
- 9th on My Favourite Book - Australian Big Read (Australian Big Read)
- 10th on Books Of The Century (Library Journal)
- 11th on Our Users' Top 100 Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 11th on The Big Read (BBC)
- 14th on Our Users' Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 15th on Radcliffe's 100 Best Novels (Radcliffe Publishing Course)
- 16th on 50 Books to Read Before You Die (Complex)
- 18th on Big Read (Bulgarian) (Bulgaria)
- 19th on The 100 Favorite Novels of Librarians (Bookman.com)
- 22nd on TrueLit's Top 100 Favorite Books (2023) (/r/TrueLit)
- 26th on Taking off the Reading Gloves (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
- 29th on 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction (Larry McCaffery)
- 31st on The Greatest Books of All Time (Reader's Digest)
- 33rd on 100 Must-Read Classics, as Chosen by our Readers (Penguin (UK))
- 33rd on Harvard Book Store Staff's Favorite 100 Books (Harvard Book Store)
- 35th on 100 Best Novels in English Since 1900 (Counterpunch)
- 44th on Big Read (Hungarian) (Hungaria)
- 62nd on The Top 10: The Greatest Books of All Time (The Top 10 (Book))
- 66th on Top 100 Books, As Chosen By Canadians (The Gazette(Newspaper))
- 74th on The 100 Greatest Novels of All Time: The List (The Observer)
- 77th on The Telegraph’s 100 Novels Everyone Should Read (Telegraph)
- 85th on Entertainment Weekly's Top 100 Novels (Entertainment Weekly)
- 116th on The Complete 500: OCLC (OCLC)
- 200 Books That Shaped 200 Years of Literature (The Center for Fiction)
- TIME Magazine All Time 100 Novels (TIME Magazine)
- One Hundred Best American Novels, 1770 to 1985 (The American Scholar)
- The Greatest 20th Century Novels (Waterstone)
- 125 Books We Love for Adults (NY Public Library)
- 100 Most Influential Books of the Century (Boston Public Library)
- The College Board: 101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers (The College Board, an American not-for-profit organization)
- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (Amazon.com (USA))
- The 100 Greatest American Novels, 1893 – 1993 (Jeff O'Neal at Bookriot.com)
- Världsbiblioteket (The World Library) (Tidningen Boken)
- 50 Books to (Re-)Read at 50 (nextavenue)
- For The Love of Books (For The Love of Books)
- The Book of Great Books: A Guide to 100 World Classics (Book)
- From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books (Jeff O'Neal at Bookriot.com)
- Great Books (The Learning Channel)
- Best Books Ever (Book Depository)
- The 100 Best Books in the World (AbeBooks.de (in German))
- Select 100 (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (Amazon.com (UK))
- 50 Books to Read Before You Die (Barnes and Noble)
- The Great American Read (PBS)
- 100 Best Novels Written in English (The Guardian)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)
- The New York Public Library's Books of the Century (New York Public Library)
- 50 Best Cult Books (Telegraph)
- Best Books (Fiction, Prose) : Experts Choose Their Favourites (The Book "Best Books")
- The Booklist Century: 100 Books, 100 Years (BookList)
- The Great American Novels (The Atlantic)
- 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List (1,000 Books to Read Before You Die(Book))
- The Modern Library: The Two Hundred Best Novels in English Since 1950 (The Modern Library (Book))
- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (The Guardian)
- Books That Shaped America (Library of Congress)
- Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English since 1939 (Anthony Burges (Book))
- Books that Shaped the Century (LOGOS 20th Century Books Project)