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Catch-22.
by HELLER, Joseph
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
London, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Simon and Schuster,, 1961. He was going to live forever, or die in the attempt First edition, first printing. Based on Heller's wartime experiences in the United States Army Air Corps, the novel is a classic of both satire and anti-war literature. It has also influenced the English lexicon, as the work's title is now widely understood as describing a paradoxical or impossible situation. "Couched in humour reminiscent of a vaudeville act, it satirized militarism, nationalism, patriotism, discipline, ambition, loyalty, money, big business, sex, religion, mankind, and God. It questioned the values deeply held by the post-World War II generation by stating that dying for your country was futile, that leaders are fools who cannot be trusted, and that capitalism made victims of us all" (ANB). Octavo. Original blue cloth, spine lettered in white, top edge red. With dust jacket. Bump to spine ends, faint mark to outer leaves, contents clean; jacket unclipped, red figure on spine faded, bright overall, a couple of chips and creases, verso with neat tape reinforcement to spine head: a near-fine copy in very good jacket.
Synopsis
Catch-22 is Joseph Heller’s first novel and his most acclaimed work. Set during World War II, the novel uses a distinctive non-chronological third-person omniscient narration, mainly focusing on the life of Captain John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bombardier. Occasionally, the narrator also shows us how other characters, such as the chaplain or Hungry Joe, experience the world around them. As the novel’s events are described from the different points of view through separate out-of-sequence storylines, the timeline of Catch-22 develops along with the plot. The novel's title refers to a plot device that is repeatedly invoked in the story. Catch-22 starts as a set of paradoxical requirements whereby airmen mentally unfit to fly did not have to, but could not actually be excused. By the end of the novel, the phrase is invoked as the explanation for many unreasonable restrictions. “Catch-22” has since entered the English language and can be understood as an unsolvable logic puzzle, a difficult situation from which there is no escape. Upon publication, the book was not a best seller in the United States. It was merely a cult favorite until the publication of the paperback edition in 1962, which set record sales — most likely benefitting from a national debate about the pointlessness of the Vietnam War. Catch-22 has since been ranked as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century by the Modern Library, one of the 20th century's top 100 novels by the Radcliffe Publishing Course, and one of the 100 greatest novels of all time by The Observer.
Read More: Identifying first editions of Catch-22.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Peter Harrington
(GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 173141
- Title
- Catch-22.
- Author
- HELLER, Joseph
- Book Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Place of Publication
- New York: Simon and Schuster,
- Date Published
- 1961
Terms of Sale
Peter Harrington
All major credit cards are accepted. Both UK pounds and US dollars (exchange rate to be agreed) accepted. Books may be returned within 14 days of receipt for any reason, please notify first of returned goods.
About the Seller
Peter Harrington
Biblio member since 2006
London
About Peter Harrington
Since its establishment, Peter Harrington has specialised in sourcing, selling and buying the finest quality original first editions, signed, rare and antiquarian books, fine bindings and library sets. Peter Harrington first began selling rare books from the Chelsea Antiques Market on London's King's Road. For the past twenty years the business has been run by Pom Harrington, Peter's son.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Verso
- The page bound on the left side of a book, opposite to the recto page.
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
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