If it didn't become jaundice and went away they could discharge him. If it became jaundice they could treat it. The doctors were puzzled by the fact that it wasn't quite jaundice. Yossarian was in the hospital with a pain in his liver that fell just short of being jaundice.

The first time Yossarian saw the chaplain he fell madly in love with him.

Here, at last, is the definitive edition of a classic of world literature. This fiftieth-anniversary edition commemorates Joseph Heller’s masterpiece with a new introduction by Christopher Buckley a wealth of critical essays and reviews by Norman Mailer, Alfred Kazin, Anthony Burgess, and others rare papers and photos from Joseph Heller’s personal archive and much more. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he’s assigned, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved. But his real problem is not the enemy-it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. In recent years it has been named to “best novels” lists by Time, Newsweek, the Modern Library, and the London Observer. Now a Hulu limited series starring Christopher Abbott, George Clooney, Kyle Chandler, and Hugh Laurie.įifty years after its original publication, Catch-22 remains a cornerstone of American literature and one of the funniest-and most celebrated-books of all time.

Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read. This fiftieth-anniversary edition commemorates Joseph Heller’s masterpiece with a new introduction critical essays and reviews by Norman Mailer, Alfred Kazin, Anthony Burgess, and others rare papers and photos and much more.

Catch 22 book