Joseph Heller (1) (1923–1999)
Author of Catch-22
For other authors named Joseph Heller, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
American novelist and dramatist Joseph Heller was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. on May 1, 1923. Heller started off his writing career by publishing a series of short stories, but he is most famous for his satirical novel Catch-22. Set in the closing months of World War II, Catch-22 tells the story of a show more bombardier named Yossarian who discovers the horrors of war and its aftereffects. This novel brought the phrase "catch-22," defined in Webster's Dictionary as "a situation presenting two equally undesirable alternatives," into everyday use. Heller wrote Closing Time, the sequel to Catch-22, in 1994. Other novels include As Good As Gold and God Knows. He also wrote No Laughing Matter, an account of his struggles with Guillain-Barr Syndrome, a neurological disorder, in 1986. Thirty-five years after writing his first book, Heller wrote his autobiography, entitled Now and Then: From Coney Island to Here. In his memoirs, Heller reminisces about what it was like growing up in Coney Island in the 1930s and 1940s. On December 13, 1999, Heller died of a heart attack in his home on Long Island. His last novel, Portrait of the Artist as an Old Man, was published shortly after his death. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Photograph by Jerry Bauer
Series
Works by Joseph Heller
Associated Works
Very seventies : a cultural history of the 1970s, from the pages of Crawdaddy (1995) — Contributor — 24 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Heller, Joseph
- Birthdate
- 1923-05-01
- Date of death
- 1999-12-12
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Brooklyn, New York, New York, USA
- Place of death
- East Hampton, New York, USA
- Cause of death
- heart attack
- Places of residence
- New York, New York, USA
East Hampton, New York, USA - Education
- University of Southern California
New York University (BA ∙ 1948)
Columbia University (MA ∙ 1949 ∙ English)
Oxford University (St. Catherine's College)
Abraham Lincoln High School - Occupations
- university teacher
advertising industry
novelist
bombardier - Relationships
- Heller, Ted (son)
Heller, Erica (daughter) - Organizations
- American Academy of Arts and Letters (Literature ∙ 1977)
Pennsylvania State University
US Army Air Force (WWII) - Awards and honors
- Fulbright Fellowship (1949-50)
American Academy of Arts and Letters Academy Award (1963) - Agent
- Candida Donadio
- Short biography
- Joseph Heller (May 1, 1923 – December 12, 1999) was an American author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays. His best-known work is the novel Catch-22, a satire on war and bureaucracy, whose title has become a synonym for an absurd or contradictory choice.
Joseph Heller was born in Brooklyn in 1923. In 1961, he published Catch-22, which became a bestseller and, in 1970, a film. He went on to write such novels as Good as Gold, God Knows, Picture This, Closing Time (the sequel to Catch-22), and Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man. Heller died in December 1999.
Members
Discussions
63. Something Happened by Joseph Heller in Backlisted Book Club (March 2022)
Reviews
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Love.
This book is a treasure trove of flagrant incompetence. The 1961 book: Catch 22 could be said to be an extended illustration of [b:The Peter Principle|890728|The Peter Principle|Laurence J. Peter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347586680l/890728._SY75_.jpg|875969], which was published in 1969. It seems like everyone in the unit is incompetent. They each have misguided goals that seldom align with the organization goals. The book describes interactions between them, not the German enemy.
The first few chapters are people talking nonsense past each other, frequently there long conversations that are deliberate misunderstandings of simple communication. It seems as if everyone hates and fears everyone else in their unit.
After reading it for a while, I found myself falling into the same miscommunication patterns that they were using. That almost caused me to stop reading, but it is so highly rated by other people that I kept on in hopes that it would get better. It only got marginally better.
I struggled to give it a rating of 3 stars, but after reading more decided to give it 2 stars, which feels more appropriate for a book where nonsense, misunderstanding, belittlement, mayhem, and rage are the standard fare. Lies, including blatant lies are the order of the day. Consequences are rare, random, and often applied to the innocent with truth being totally irrelevant. Meanness to each other and misdeeds are followed by more misdeeds. This book only serves as an example of doing things wrong.
With military like this, it’s amazing that we won the war. But then, this purports to be a work of fiction. Doesn’t it? A review of [b:The True Story of Catch 22: The Reality that Inspired one of the Great Classics in American Literature|45486006|The True Story of Catch 22 The Reality that Inspired one of the Great Classics in American Literature|Patricia Chapman Meder|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557174422l/45486006._SY75_.jpg|70264505] caused me to read Catch-22.
The front material and the after material caught my interest more than the book.
I am delighted that I did not purchase a copy of this book.… (more)
The first few chapters are people talking nonsense past each other, frequently there long conversations that are deliberate misunderstandings of simple communication. It seems as if everyone hates and fears everyone else in their unit.
After reading it for a while, I found myself falling into the same miscommunication patterns that they were using. That almost caused me to stop reading, but it is so highly rated by other people that I kept on in hopes that it would get better. It only got marginally better.
I struggled to give it a rating of 3 stars, but after reading more decided to give it 2 stars, which feels more appropriate for a book where nonsense, misunderstanding, belittlement, mayhem, and rage are the standard fare. Lies, including blatant lies are the order of the day. Consequences are rare, random, and often applied to the innocent with truth being totally irrelevant. Meanness to each other and misdeeds are followed by more misdeeds. This book only serves as an example of doing things wrong.
With military like this, it’s amazing that we won the war. But then, this purports to be a work of fiction. Doesn’t it? A review of [b:The True Story of Catch 22: The Reality that Inspired one of the Great Classics in American Literature|45486006|The True Story of Catch 22 The Reality that Inspired one of the Great Classics in American Literature|Patricia Chapman Meder|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557174422l/45486006._SY75_.jpg|70264505] caused me to read Catch-22.
The front material and the after material caught my interest more than the book.
I am delighted that I did not purchase a copy of this book.… (more)
"Did not like it" is awfully generous. Zero stars "I hated it" is more accurate.
This is a sexist, misogynistic waste of paper!
This is a sexist, misogynistic waste of paper!
Excellent read
The fast paced wit that Heller brings keeps the story wildly entertaining throughout. This is then balanced by the thought provoking reality of the insanity the characters have been thrown into.
The fast paced wit that Heller brings keeps the story wildly entertaining throughout. This is then balanced by the thought provoking reality of the insanity the characters have been thrown into.
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Statistics
- Works
- 17
- Also by
- 10
- Members
- 49,635
- Popularity
- #311
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 627
- ISBNs
- 502
- Languages
- 26
- Favorited
- 120
