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{{short description|1961 novel by Joseph Heller}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox book
| name              = Catch-22
| image             = Catch-22 (1961) front cover, first edition.jpg
| caption           = First edition cover
| author            = [[Joseph Heller]]
| cover_artist      = [[Paul Bacon (designer)|Paul Bacon]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.solothurnli.com/Pages/PaulBacon.html|title=Paul Bacon cover artist|publisher=Solothurnli|access-date=March 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080119215305/http://www.solothurnli.com/Pages/PaulBacon.html|archive-date=January 19, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| country           = United States
| language          = English
| genre             = [[Dark comedy]], [[absurdist fiction]], [[satire]], [[war novel|war fiction]], [[historical fiction]]
| publisher         = [[Simon & Schuster]]
| release_date      = October 10, 1961<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eller |first1=Jonathan R. |title=The Story of Catch-22 |date=2011 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=Catch-22 |isbn=978-1451626650 |page=469 |edition=50th anniversary}}</ref>
| media_type        = Print (hardback)
| pages             = 453  (1st edition hardback)
| isbn              = 0-671-12805-1
| dewey             = 813/.54 22
| congress          = PS3558.E476 C3 2004
| oclc              = 35231812
| followed_by       = [[Closing Time (novel)|Closing Time]] ''(1994)''
}}
'''''Catch-22''''' is a [[satirical]] [[war novel]] by American author [[Joseph Heller]]. It was his [[debut novel]]. He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961. Often cited as one of the most significant novels of the 20th century,<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1868619.stm |title=What is Catch-22? And why does the book matter? |work=BBC News |date=March 12, 2002 |access-date=March 11, 2011}}</ref> it uses a distinctive non-chronological [[Narrative mode#Third-person, omniscient|third-person omniscient]] narration, describing events from the points of view of different characters. The separate storylines are out of sequence so the timeline develops along with the plot.

The novel is set during [[World War II]], from 1942 to 1944. It mainly follows the life of [[antihero]] [[Captain (United States O-3)|Captain]] [[Yossarian|John Yossarian]], a [[United States Army Air Forces|U.S. Army Air Forces]] [[B-25]] [[Bombardier (aircrew)|bombardier]]. Most of the events in the book occur while the fictional 256th US Army Air Squadron is based on the island of [[Pianosa]], in the [[Mediterranean Sea]] west of the Italian mainland, although it also includes episodes from basic training at [[Lowry Field]] in Colorado and Air Corps training at [[Santa Ana Army Air Base]] in California. The novel examines the [[absurdity]] of war and military life through the experiences of Yossarian and his cohorts, who attempt to maintain their sanity while fulfilling their service requirements so that they may return home.

The book was made into a [[Catch-22 (film)|film adaptation]] in 1970, directed by [[Mike Nichols]], and a [[Catch-22 (miniseries)|miniseries]] in 2019, produced by [[George Clooney]]. In 1994, Heller published a sequel to the novel titled ''[[Closing Time (novel)|Closing Time]]''.

== Synopsis ==

The main character, Yossarian, is introduced in the setting of a military hospital where he has retreated under the guise of a chronic liver condition to avoid flying further combat missions since he has grown disillusioned with the war effort and distrustful of his commanding officers. Throughout the novel, the [[commanding officer]]s show extreme disregard for the lives of their troops and are all too willing to sacrifice their men to further their own ends. Especially, [[Colonel Cathcart]] volunteers his unit to fly dangerous missions and forces his men to fly more combat missions than any other unit, constantly raising the number of missions necessary to complete a tour of duty so that the men can never return home, because he wishes to be seen as brave by his superiors even though he has only ever flown a single combat mission. After flying forty-four combat missions, Yossarian has become [[traumatized]] by aerial combat and witnessing the deaths of his friends; he is terrified of being killed in action during each combat mission, but still succeeds in flying twenty-seven more missions over the course of the novel, totaling seventy-one by the end. As the novel progresses, Yossarian's moral character and courage emerge more clearly, in contrast to his seeming selfishness and cowardice when first introduced. He is shown to be an honest, loyal, and able flyer who has been pushed to desperation by the selfishness and cowardice of the authorities responsible for him, especially doctors and military leaders.

The development of the novel can be split into sections:

* The first (chapters 1–11) broadly follows the story fragmented between characters, but in a single chronological time in 1944.  
* The second (chapters 12–20) flashes back to focus primarily on the "Great Big Siege of [[Bologna]]" before once again jumping to the third part.
* The third (chapter 21–25) is the chronological present of 1944. 
* The fourth (chapters 26–28) flashes back to the origins and growth of [[Milo Minderbinder|Milo's]] syndicate.
* The fifth part (chapters 28–32) returning again to the narrative present and maintaining the tone of the previous four. 
* The sixth and final part (chapter 32 and on) remains in the story's present, but takes a much darker turn and emphasizes  the darkness and brutality of war and life in general.<ref name="Burhans">Clinton S. Burhans, Jr. "Spindrift and the Sea: Structural Patterns and Unifying Elements in Catch 22". ''Twentieth Century Literature'', Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 239–250, 1973. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/440541 JSTOR online access]</ref>

For most of the book, the reader is cushioned from directly experiencing the full horror of war, but the existence of these horrors is implied by the extreme trauma and fear that afflicts the airmen. In the final section, these events are laid bare. The horror begins with a pointless attack on an undefended Italian mountain village, with the succeeding chapters incorporating depictions of despair ([[Doc Daneeka]] and the [[Chaplain Tappman|chaplain]]), disappearance in combat ([[Orr (Catch-22)|Orr]] and Clevinger), disappearance caused by the army (Dunbar) and death of most of Yossarian's friends ([[Nately]], McWatt, Kid Sampson, Dobbs, Chief White Halfoat and Hungry Joe), culminating in the horrors of Chapter 39, in particular [[Captain Aardvark|Aarfy's]] rape and murder of the innocent young woman Michaela.<ref name="Burhans" /> In Chapter 41 the full details of the death of Snowden are finally revealed.

Nevertheless, the novel ends on an upbeat note with Yossarian learning of [[Orr (Catch-22)|Orr's]] miraculous escape to Sweden and Yossarian's pledge to follow him there.

== Style ==
Many events in the book are repeatedly described from differing points of view, so the reader learns more about each event from each [[iteration]], with the new information often completing a joke, the setup of which was told several chapters previously. The narrative's events are out of sequence, but events are referred to as if the reader is already familiar with them so that the reader must ultimately piece together a timeline of events. Specific words, phrases, and questions are also repeated frequently, generally to comic effect.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

Much of Heller's prose in ''Catch-22'' is circular and repetitive, exemplifying in its form the structure of a [[Catch-22 (logic)|Catch-22]]. [[Circular reasoning]] is widely used by some characters to justify their actions and opinions. Heller revels in [[paradox]]. For example: "[[The Texan (fictional character)|The Texan]] turned out to be good-natured, generous and likable. In three days no one could stand him," and "The case against Clevinger was open and shut. The only thing missing was something to charge him with." This atmosphere of apparently logical irrationality pervades the book.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} This style is also recognizable regarding how exactly Clevinger's trial would be executed by Lieutenant Scheisskopf: "As a member of the Action Board, Lieutenant Scheisskopf was one of the judges who would weigh the merits of the case against Clevinger as presented by the prosecutor. Lieutenant Scheisskopf was also the prosecutor. Clevinger had an officer defending him. The officer defending him was Lieutenant Scheisskopf."<ref name="Catch-22">{{cite book | first=Joseph | last=Heller | title=Catch-22 | publisher=Simon & Schuster | location=New York | date=June 1961 | orig-year=1961 | isbn=0-684-83339-5 | oclc=35231812 | type=hardback | url=https://archive.org/details/catch2200hell_0 }}</ref>{{rp|76}}

While a few characters are most prominent, especially Yossarian and the Chaplain, the majority of named characters are described in detail with fleshed out or multidimensional personas to the extent that there are few if any "minor characters". There are no traditional heroes in the novel, reflecting the underlying commentary that war has no heroes, only victims.<ref name="Rosenbaum">{{Cite web|url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2011/08/catch-22-the-awful-truth-people-miss-about-heller-s-great-novel.html|title=Catch-22: The awful truth people miss about Heller's great novel.|last=Rosenbaum|first=Ron|date=2011-08-02|website=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|access-date=2019-07-03}}</ref>

Although its nonchronological structure may at first seem random, ''Catch-22'' is highly structured. It is founded on a structure of [[Free association (psychology)|free association]]; ideas run into one another through seemingly random connections. For example, Chapter 1, titled "The Texan", ends with "everybody but the [[United States Army Criminal Investigation Command|CID man]], who had caught a cold from the fighter captain and come down with pneumonia."<ref name="Catch-22"/>{{rp|24}} Chapter 2, titled "Clevinger", begins with "In a way, the CID man was pretty lucky because outside the hospital the war was still going on."<ref name="Catch-22"/>{{rp|25}} The CID man connects the two chapters like a free association bridge and eventually Chapter 2 flows from the CID man to Clevinger through more free association links.

As Heller utilizes an episodic structure for most of the novel, many chapters may appear to be a disjointed series of events with little or no connection with each other. However, individual chapters often deal with thematically unique ideas, such as Chapter 11 (“Captain Black”) which parodies [[Red Scare]]-era [[McCarthyism]], and Chapter 18 (“The Soldier Who Saw Everything Twice”) which explores theological concepts of mortality.

== Themes ==

=== Paradox ===
[[Yossarian]] comes to fear his commanding officers more than he fears the Germans attempting to shoot him down and he feels that "they" are "out to get him." The reason Yossarian fears his commanders more than the enemy is that as he flies more missions, [[Colonel Cathcart]] increases the number of required combat missions before a soldier may return home; he reaches the magic number only to have it retroactively raised. He comes to despair of ever getting home and is greatly relieved when he is sent to the hospital for a condition that is almost [[jaundice]]. In Yossarian's words:

{{blockquote| The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which ''side'' he's on, and that includes Colonel Cathcart. And don't you forget that, because the longer you remember it, the longer you might live.<ref name="Catch-22" />{{rp|124}}}}

=== Tragedy and farce ===
Much of the farce in the novel is fueled by intentional and unintentional miscommunication, occasionally leading to tragic consequences. For example, Cathcart's desire to become a general is thwarted by ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen sabotaging his correspondence. Major Major's and Yossarian's mis-censoring of correspondence is blamed on the Chaplain, who is threatened with imprisonment as a result.

=== Theodicy ===
Yossarian [[Theodicy|questions the idea that]] God is all-powerful, all-good, and all knowing. The narrator seems to believe that God, if not evil, is incompetent. In chapter 18, Yossarian states that he "believes in the God he doesn't believe in", this version of God having created Hitler, the war, and all the failures of human life and society, as exemplified in the following passage:<blockquote>"And don't tell me [[God works in mysterious ways]]", Yossarian continued, hurtling over her objections. "There's nothing so mysterious about it. He's not working at all. He's playing or else He's forgotten all about us. That's the kind of God you people talk about – a country bumpkin, a clumsy, bungling, brainless, conceited, uncouth hayseed. Good God, how much reverence can you have for a Supreme Being who finds it necessary to include such phenomena as phlegm and tooth decay in His divine system of creation? What in the world was running through that warped, evil, scatological mind of His when He robbed old people of the power to control their bowel movements? Why in the world did he ever create pain? … Oh, He was really being charitable to us when He gave us pain! [to warn us of danger] Why couldn't He have used a doorbell instead to notify us, or one of His celestial choirs? Or a system of blue-and-red neon tubes right in the middle of each person's forehead. Any jukebox manufacturer worth his salt could have done that. Why couldn't He? … What a colossal, immortal blunderer! When you consider the opportunity and power He had to really do a job, and then look at the stupid, ugly little mess He made of it instead, His sheer incompetence is almost staggering. …"<ref name="Rosenbaum"/></blockquote>Later Heller writes of Yossarian wandering through a war-torn Italian city (Chapter 39):  <blockquote>"Yossarian quickened his pace to get away, almost ran. The night was filled with horrors, and he thought he knew how Christ must have felt as he walked through the world, like a psychiatrist through a ward full of nuts, like a victim through a prison full of thieves. What a welcome sight a leper must have been. At the next corner a man was beating a small boy brutally in the midst of an immobile crowd of adult spectators who made no effort to intervene&nbsp;..."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Catch-22|last=Heller|first=Joseph|publisher=Random House|year=1995|isbn=978-0-679-43722-2|pages=514}}</ref></blockquote>

=== Military-industrial complex ===
While the military's enemies are Germans, none appear in the story as enemy combatants. This ironic situation is epitomized in the single appearance of German personnel in the novel, who act as pilots employed by the squadron's mess officer, [[Milo Minderbinder]], to bomb the American encampment on Pianosa. This predicament indicates a tension between traditional motives for violence and the modern economic machine, which seems to generate violence simply as another means to profit, quite independent of geographical or ideological constraints which creates a [[military–industrial complex]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://thegemsbok.com/art-reviews-and-articles/book-reviews-tuesday-tome-catch-22-joseph-heller/|title=Rocks and Hard Places Galore: The Bureaucratic Appropriation of War in Joseph Heller's Catch-22|last=Podgorski|first=Daniel|date=October 27, 2015|website=The Gemsbok|series=Your Tuesday Tome|access-date=February 21, 2016}}</ref> Heller emphasizes the danger of profit-seeking by portraying Milo without "evil intent". Milo's actions are portrayed as the result of greed, not malice.<ref name="Sorkin 1993 150">{{cite book|title=Conversations with Joseph Heller|last=Sorkin|first=Adam J.|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|year=1993|isbn=0-87805-635-1|location=Jackson, MO|pages=150}}</ref>

== Characters ==
{{Further|List of Catch-22 characters}}The novel has over 50 named characters, many of whom have titular chapters dedicated to expanding on their personalities or motivations.

== Influences ==
Heller wanted to be a writer from an early age. His experiences as a [[bombardier (air force)|bombardier]] during World War II inspired ''Catch-22'';<ref>{{cite magazine | first=DM | last=Craig | title=From Avignon to Catch-22 | magazine=[[War, Literature & the Arts]] |volume=6 | issue=2 | date=1994 | pages=27–54}}</ref> Heller later said that he "never had a bad officer". In a 1977 essay on ''Catch-22'', Heller stated that the "antiwar and antigovernment feelings in the book" were a product of the Korean War and the 1950s rather than World War II itself. Heller's criticisms are not intended for World War II but for the Cold War and [[McCarthyism]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Heller|first=Joseph|title=The Sixties|year=1977|publisher=Random House/Rolling Stone Press|location=New York|editor=Lynda Rosen Obst|pages=50–52|chapter=Reeling in Catch-22}}</ref>

The influence of the 1950s on ''Catch-22'' is evident through Heller's extensive use of [[anachronism]]. Though the novel is ostensibly set in World War II, Heller intentionally included anachronisms like [[loyalty oaths]] and [[computers]] ([[IBM]] machines) to situate the novel in the context of the 1950s.<ref name="Sorkin 1993 150"/>  Many of the characters are based on or connected to individuals from the 1950s:
* Milo Minderbinder's maxim "What's good for M&M Enterprises is good for the country" alludes to the former president of [[General Motors]] [[Charles Erwin Wilson]]'s 1953 statement before the Senate: "What's good for General Motors is good for the country."<ref name="Sorkin 1993 150"/>
* The question of "Who promoted [[Major Major Major Major|Major Major]]?" alludes to [[Joseph McCarthy]]'s questioning of the promotion of [[Irving Peress|Major Peress]], an army dentist who refused to sign loyalty oaths.<ref name="Sorkin 1993 150"/>

Czech writer [[Arnošt Lustig]] recounts in his book ''3x18'' that Joseph Heller told him that he would never have written ''Catch-22'' had he not first read ''[[The Good Soldier Švejk]]'' by [[Jaroslav Hašek]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Zenny |last=Sadlon |url=http://www.zenny.com/Heller.html |title=Personal testimony by Arnošt Lustig |publisher=Zenny.com |access-date=March 11, 2011}}</ref>

In 1998, some critics raised the possibility that Heller's book had questionable similarities to [[Louis Falstein]]'s 1950 novel, ''[[Face of a Hero]]''. Falstein never raised the issue between ''Catch-22''{{'s}} publication and his death in 1995 and Heller claimed never to have been aware of the obscure novel. Heller said that the novel had been influenced by [[Louis-Ferdinand Céline|Céline]], [[Evelyn Waugh|Waugh]] and [[Vladimir Nabokov|Nabokov]]. Many of the similarities have been stated to be attributable to the authors' experiences, both having served as U.S. Army Air Forces aircrew in Italy in World War II. However, their themes and styles are different.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/29/books/critic-s-notebook-questioning-the-provenance-of-the-iconic-catch-22.html?pagewanted=all |work=[[The New York Times]] |title= Critic's Notebook; Questioning the Provenance of the Iconic ''Catch-22'' |first= Mel |last= Gussow |author-link=Mel Gussow |date= April 29, 1998 |access-date= April 1, 2010}}</ref>

== Concept ==
{{main|Catch-22 (logic)}}
A "[[Catch-22 (logic)|Catch-22]]" is "a problem for which the only solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem or by a rule".<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catch%2022 catch-22], Merriam-Webster. Retrieved March 8, 2012</ref> For example, losing something is typically a conventional problem; to solve it, one looks for the lost item until one finds it. But if the thing lost is one's glasses, one cannot see to look for them – a Catch-22. The term "Catch-22" is also used more broadly to mean a tricky problem or a no-win or absurd situation.

In the book, Catch-22 is a military rule typifying [[bureaucratic]] operation and reasoning. The rule is not stated in a precise form, but the principal example in the book fits the definition above: If one is crazy, one does not have to fly missions; and one must be crazy to fly. But one has to apply to be excused, and applying demonstrates that one is not crazy. As a result, one must continue flying, either not applying to be excused, or applying and being refused. The narrator explains:

<blockquote>There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. [[Orr (Catch-22)|Orr]] was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he were sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to, but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle. (p. 56, ch. 5)</blockquote>

Other forms of Catch-22 are invoked throughout the novel to justify various bureaucratic actions. At one point, victims of harassment by military police quote the MPs' explanation of one of Catch-22's provisions: "Catch-22 states that agents enforcing Catch-22 need not prove that Catch-22 actually contains whatever provision the accused violator is accused of violating." Another character explains: "Catch-22 says [[might makes right|they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing]]."

Yossarian comes to realize that Catch-22 does not actually exist, but because the powers that be claim it does, and the world believes it does, it nevertheless has potent effects. Indeed, because it does not exist, there is no way it can be repealed, undone, overthrown, or denounced. The combination of force with specious and spurious legalistic justification is one of the book's primary motifs.

The motif of bureaucratic absurdity is further explored in 1994's [[Closing Time (novel)|''Closing Time'']], Heller's sequel to ''Catch-22''. This darker, slower-paced, apocalyptic novel explores the pre- and post-war lives of some of the major characters in ''Catch-22'', with particular emphasis on the relationship between Yossarian and tail gunner Sammy Singer.

== Literary allusions ==
''Catch-22'' contains allusions to many works of literature. [[Howard Jacobson]], in his 2004 introduction to the Vintage Classics publication, wrote that the novel was "positioned teasingly&nbsp;... between literature and literature's opposites&nbsp;– between [[Shakespeare]] and [[Rabelais]] and [[Dickens]] and [[Dostoevsky]] and [[Gogol]] and [[Louis-Ferdinand Céline|Céline]] and the [[Absurdism|Absurdists]] and of course [[Kafka]] on the one hand, and on the other [[vaudeville]] and [[slapstick]] and [[The Phil Silvers Show|Bilko]] and [[Abbott and Costello]] and [[Tom and Jerry]] and [[The Goons (The Goon Show)|the Goons]] (if Heller had ever heard of the Goons)."<ref>[[Random House]] {{ISBN|978-0-09-947046-5}} [http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/vintage/classics/home.htm Vintage Classics]</ref>
One critic argues that it is Kafka's influence that can be seen most strongly in the novel:  "Like Kafka's heroes, Yossarian is riddled with anxiety and caught in an inexorable nightmare – in his case created by Colonel Cathcart and the inevitability of his raising the number of missions he has to fly."<ref>[http://www.humanities-ebooks.co.uk/book/Reading_Catch-22 McDonald, Paul. ''Reading Catch-22''. Humanities E-Books]</ref>

== Historical context ==

The idea for ''Catch-22'' was based on Joseph Heller's personal experience in World War II. The feelings that Yossarian and the other bomber crew felt were taken directly from problems he suffered while on duty. Heller flew 60 bombing missions from May to October in 1944. Heller was able to make it out of the war, but it took until 1953 before he could start writing about it. For this reason, the book contains references to post World War II phenomena like IBM computers and [[loyalty oath]]s. The war experience turned Heller into a "tortured, funny, deeply peculiar human being".<ref>{{cite news|last=Bailey|first=Blake|title=The Enigma of Joseph Heller|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/books/review/the-enigma-of-joseph-heller.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=bookreviews|access-date=May 7, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 26, 2011}}</ref>

After publication in 1961, ''Catch-22'' became very popular among teenagers at the time. ''Catch-22'' seemed to embody the feelings that young people had toward the Vietnam War. A common joke was that every student who went off to college at the time took along a copy of ''Catch-22''. The popularity of the book created a cult following, which led to more than eight million copies being sold in the United States. On October 26, 1986, professor and author [[John W. Aldridge]] wrote a piece in ''[[The New York Times]]'' celebrating the 25th anniversary of the publishing of ''Catch-22''. He commented that Heller's book presaged the chaos in the world that was to come:

<blockquote>The comic fable that ends in horror has become more and more clearly a reflection of the altogether uncomic and horrifying realities of the world in which we live and hope to survive.<ref>{{cite news|last=Aldridge|first=John W.|title=The Loony Horror of it all – ''Catch-22'' Turns 25|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/02/15/home/heller-loony.html|access-date=March 1, 2018|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 26, 1986}}</ref></blockquote>

== Title ==

The title refers to a fictional bureaucratic stipulation that embodies illogical and immoral reasoning. The idea being that if one pleads insanity to stop flying missions with a high mortality rate, one is in fact sane; however, one must be insane to keep flying those exact missions.<ref name=":0" /> The opening chapter of the novel was first published, in 1955, by ''[[New World Writing]]'' as ''Catch-18'', but Heller's agent, Candida Donadio, asked him to change the title, to avert its confusion with [[Leon Uris]]'s recently published ''[[Mila 18]]''.<ref name=":1" /> The implications in Judaism of the number [[18 (number)|18]] – which refers to ''[[Chai (symbol)|chai]]'', meaning "alive", in [[Gematria]] – were relevant to Heller's somewhat greater emphasis on Jewish themes in early drafts of his novel.<ref name="title">N James. "The Early Composition History of Catch-22". In ''Biographies of Books: The Compositional Histories of Notable American Writings'', J Barbour, T Quirk (edi.) pp. 262–290. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, '''1996'''.</ref> Heller's daughter Erica wrote that the Simon & Schuster editor, Robert Gottlieb, was the person who came up with the number 22, and Gottlieb himself stated that he did in the documentary ''[[Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb]].''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Heller |first=Erica |date=2011-08-04 |title=Catch-18 |url=https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2011/08/04/catch-18/ |access-date=2023-03-12 |website=The Paris Review |language=en}}</ref>

Parallels among a number of character exchanges in the novel suggested the doubled-one title of ''Catch-11'', but the 1960 release of ''[[Ocean's Eleven (1960 film)|Ocean's Eleven]]'' eliminated that.<ref name=":1" /> ''Catch-17'' was rejected so as not to be confused with the World War II film ''[[Stalag 17]]'', as was ''Catch-14'', apparently because the publisher did not believe that 14 was a "funny number". Eventually, the title came to be ''Catch-22'', which, like 11, has a duplicated digit, with the 2 also referring to a number of ''[[déjà vu]]''-like events common in the novel.<ref name="title" />

== Publication and movie rights ==
''Catch-22'' was sold to [[Simon & Schuster]], where it had been championed by editor [[Robert Gottlieb]], who, along with [[Nina Bourne]], edited and oversaw the marketing of the book.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Eller|first=Jonathan R.|date=October 1992|title=Catching a Market: The Publishing History of Catch-22|journal=Prospects|volume=17|pages=475–525|doi=10.1017/S0361233300004804}}</ref> Gottlieb was a strong advocate for the book along with [[Peter Schwed]] and [[Justin Kaplan]]. Henry Simon, a vice president at Simon & Schuster, found it repetitive and offensive.<ref name=":1" /> The editorial board decided to contract the book when Heller agreed to revisions; he signed for {{US$|1500|1961|round=-2|long=yes|showyear=yes|about=yes}}.<ref name=":1" />

Officially published on October 10, 1961, the hardcover sold for $5.95. The book was not a best-seller in hardcover in the United States. Though twelve thousand copies were sold by [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]], it never entered [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' Best Seller list]]. It received good notices and was nominated for the [[National Book Award]] in March 1962, though [[Walker Percy]]'s ''[[The Moviegoer]]'' won. ''Catch-22'' went through four printings in hardcover but sold well on only the East Coast. The book never established itself nationally until it was published in paperback for 75 cents.<ref name="Just One Catch">{{cite book|last=Daugherty|first=Tracy|title=Just One Catch: A Biography of Joseph Heller|year=2011|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0312596859|url=https://archive.org/details/justonecatchbiog00daug}}</ref>{{rp|224–230}}

Upon publication in Great Britain, the book became the No. 1 best-seller.<ref name="Just One Catch" />{{rp|233}}  Don Fine of [[Dell Publishing|Dell Paperbacks]] bought the paperback reprint rights to ''Catch-22'' for $32,000. Between the paperback's release in September 1962 and April 1963, it sold 1.1&nbsp;million copies.<ref name="Just One Catch" />{{rp|238–240}}

In August 1962, Donadio brokered the sale of movie rights to [[Columbia Pictures]] for $100,000 plus $25,000 to write a treatment or a first draft of a screenplay.<ref name="Just One Catch" />{{rp|234}}

== Reception ==
The initial reviews of the book ranged from very positive to very negative. There were positive reviews from ''[[The Nation]]'' ("the best novel to come out in years"), the ''[[New York Herald Tribune]]'' ("A wild, moving, shocking, hilarious, raging, exhilarating, giant roller-coaster of a book") and ''[[The New York Times]]'' ("A dazzling performance that will outrage nearly as many readers as it delights"). On the other hand, ''[[The New Yorker]]'' disliked it ("doesn't even seem to be written; instead, it gives the impression of having been shouted onto paper", "what remains is a debris of sour jokes"), and a second review from the ''New York Times'' also disliked it ("repetitive and monotonous. Or one can say that it is too short because none of its many interesting characters and actions is given enough play to become a controlling interest").<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ipl.org/div/litcrit/bin/litcrit.out.pl?ti=cat-860 |title=The Internet Public Library: Online Literary Criticism Collection |publisher=Ipl.org |access-date=March 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106035214/http://www.ipl.org/div/litcrit/bin/litcrit.out.pl?ti=cat-860 |archive-date=January 6, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  One commentator of ''Catch-22'' recognized that "many early audiences liked the book for just the same reasons that caused others to hate it".<ref name="Catch-22 1994">{{cite book|last=Heller|first=Joseph|title=Catch-22|year=1994| orig-year=1961 |publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York|isbn=0-671-50233-6}}</ref>{{rp|11}} The book eventually gained a cult following, especially among teenagers and college students. Heller later remarked that in 1962, after appearing on the ''Today'' show he went out drinking with the host at the time, [[John Chancellor]], who handed him stickers that Chancellor had got privately printed reading "YOSSARIAN LIVES". Heller also said that Chancellor had been secretly putting them on the walls of the corridors and executive bathrooms in the NBC building.<ref name="Catch-22 1994"/>{{rp|11}}

Although the novel won no awards upon release, it has remained in print and is seen as one of the most significant American novels of the 20th century.<ref name="BBC" /> Scholar and fellow World War II veteran [[Hugh Nibley]] said it was the most accurate book he ever read about the military.<ref>Hugh Nibley and Alex Nibley, ''Sergeant Nibley PhD.: Memories of an Unlikely Screaming Eagle'', Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain, '''2006''', p. 255</ref> {{As of|2016}} over ten million copies have been sold.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jordison |first=Sam |date=2016-08-23 |title=Catch-22's 10m copies: how a bitter satire became a bestseller |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2016/aug/23/catch-22s-10m-copies-how-a-bitter-satire-became-a-bestseller |access-date=2024-06-13 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

Although he continued writing, including a sequel novel ''[[Closing Time (novel)|Closing Time]]'', Heller's later works were inevitably overshadowed by the success of ''Catch-22''. When asked by critics why he had never managed to write another novel as good as his first, Heller would retort with a smile, "Who has?"<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2011/10/08/the-first-cut-is-the-deepest|title=Joseph Heller and his fiction. The first cut is the deepest.|newspaper=The Economist|date=October 8, 2011|access-date=March 3, 2017}}</ref>

=== Challenges ===
''Catch-22'' has landed on the list of the [[American Library Association]]'s banned and challenged classics.

In 1972, the school board in [[Strongsville, Ohio|Strongsville]], Ohio, removed ''Catch-22'', as well as two books by [[Kurt Vonnegut]], from school libraries and the curriculum.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Office of Intellectual Freedom|date=2013-03-26|title=Banned & Challenged Classics|url=https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/classics|access-date=2021-06-18|website=American Library Association|language=en}}</ref> Five families sued the school board. The [[United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit|Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals]] rejected the claim, stating that school boards had the right to control the curriculum.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Hudson |first=David L. |title=Minarcini v. Strongsville City School District (6th Circuit) |url=https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/minarcini-v-strongsville-city-school-district-6th-circuit/ |access-date=2021-06-18 |website=Middle Tennessee State University |language=en}}</ref> The decision was overturned on appeal in 1976.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Pal|first=Anupama|date=2016-02-24|title=Banning Joseph Heller's Catch-22: The Case of Minarcini v. Strongsville City School District and Issues of First Amendment Rights, Intellectual Freedom, and Censorship|journal=Elon Law Review|volume=8|issue=41|pages=41–60}}</ref> The court wrote, "A library is a storehouse of knowledge. Here we are concerned with the right of students to receive information which they and their teachers desire them to have."<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=1976-08-31|title=U.S. Court Says School Boards Cannot Remove Library Books|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/31/archives/us-court-says-school-boards-cannot-remove-library-books.html|access-date=2021-06-18|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court employed a similar rationale in its decision in ''[[Island Trees School District v. Pico]]'' on the removal of library books.<ref name=":3" />

Because the book refers to some women as "whores", it was challenged at the [[Dallas Independent School District|Dallas, Texas, Independent School District]] (1974) and [[Snoqualmie, Washington]] (1979).<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" />

== Rankings ==
{{external media | width = 250px | float = right | headerimage= | video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?302675-1/50th-anniversary-joseph-hellers-catch22 "50th Anniversary of Joseph Heller's ''Catch-22''"] – [[Lesley Stahl]] moderating a panel made up of [[Christopher Buckley (novelist)|Christopher Buckley]], [[Robert Gottlieb]], [[Mike Nichols]], and [[Scott Shepherd (actor)|Scott Shepherd]], October 18, 2011, [[C-SPAN]]<ref name="cspan">{{cite web | title =50th Anniversary of Joseph Heller's Catch-22| publisher =[[C-SPAN]] | date =October 18, 2011 | url =https://www.c-span.org/video/?302675-1/50th-anniversary-joseph-hellers-catch22 |access-date =January 8, 2017 }}</ref> }}
* The [[Modern Library]] ranked ''Catch-22'' as the 7th (by review panel) and 12th (by public) greatest English-language novel of the 20th century.<ref>[http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html Randomhouse.com] [[Modern Library]]'s 100 best novels of the 20th century</ref>
* The [[Radcliffe Publishing Course]] ranked ''Catch-22'' as number 15 of the 20th century's top 100 novels.<ref>{{cite web |first=Herbert |last=Huber |url=http://www.lesekost.de/kanon/HHL102.htm |title=Radcliffe Publishing Course: the twentieth century's top 100&nbsp;novels |publisher=Lesekost.de |access-date=March 11, 2011 |archive-date=March 17, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317195013/http://www.lesekost.de/kanon/HHL102.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* ''[[The Observer]]'' listed ''Catch-22'' as one of the 100 greatest novels of all time.<ref>{{cite news|first=Robert |last=McCrum |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/oct/12/features.fiction |title=The Observer's greatest novels of all time |work=The Observer |location=UK |date= August 8, 2006|access-date=March 11, 2011}}</ref>
* ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' puts ''Catch-22'' in the top 100 English-language modern novels (1923 onwards, unranked).<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051019053903/http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 19, 2005 |title=Time's top 100 English language modern novels |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date= October 16, 2005|access-date=March 11, 2011}}</ref>
* The [[Big Read]] by the [[BBC]] ranked ''Catch-22'' as number 11 on a web poll of the UK's best-loved book.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml The BBC's Big Read]</ref>

== Adaptations ==
[[File:Catch22-1970 opening.jpg|thumb|250px|Opening title of the film adaptation]]
* ''Catch-22'' was adapted into a [[Catch-22 (film)|feature film of the same name]] in 1970, directed by [[Mike Nichols]]. [[Alan Arkin]] portrayed Capt. [[Yossarian]], with an ensemble cast including [[Art Garfunkel]] as Nately, [[Jon Voight]] as [[Milo Minderbinder]], [[Orson Welles]] as General Dreedle, and [[Martin Balsam]] as [[Colonel Cathcart]], amongst many others.
* A [[television pilot|pilot]] for a comedy series based upon ''Catch-22'' was made and televised in 1973, with [[Richard Dreyfuss]] in the starring role of Yossarian.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Holloway |first=Daniel |date=2019-04-23 |title=How George Clooney and Christopher Abbott Battled to Bring 'Catch-22' Into the 21st Century |url=https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/george-clooney-catch-22-christopher-abbott-1203194665/ |access-date=2024-06-13 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Catch-22 (play)|''Catch-22'' play]]: [[Aquila Theatre]] produced a stage adaptation of ''Catch-22'', based on Heller's 1971 stage adaptation. It was directed by [[Peter Meineck]]. This production toured the United States in 2007/8 with a Bexhill on Sea production in the fall of 2008.<ref>{{cite news |first=John. R. Jr. |last=Phythyon |author-link=John R. Phythyon, Jr. |title=''Catch-22'' a nearly perfect adaptation|url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/mar/02/catch22_nearly_perfect_adaptation |work=The Lawrence Journal-World & News |date=March 2, 2008}}</ref>
* A [[Catch-22 (miniseries)|six-episode miniseries]] produced by, and co-starring, [[George Clooney]] was picked up by [[Hulu]] for a straight-to-series order. It streamed on May 17, 2019. It was also broadcast by [[Channel 4]] in the [[United Kingdom]]. [[Christopher Abbott]] portrayed Yossarian, with [[Kyle Chandler]] as Cathcart,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/catch-22-hulu-kyle-chandler-george-clooney-switches-roles-1202752693/|title='Catch-22' Casting Shuffle: Kyle Chandler Takes Over as Cathcart, George Clooney Switches Roles|website=Variety|last=Otterson|first=Joe|date=April 13, 2018|access-date=April 13, 2018}}</ref> [[Hugh Laurie]] as Major —— de Coverley, and Clooney as Lt. Scheisskopf.

== Selected releases ==
This list covers the first and most recent printed publications by the original publisher [[Simon & Schuster]] as well as all other formats. Other print publishers include [[Dell Publishing|Dell]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catch-22(Dell 1120) Paperback – January 1, 1964 by Joseph Heller (Author) |url=https://www.amazon.com/Catch-22-Dell-1120-Joseph-Heller/dp/B000G96ELY |website=Amazon}}</ref> [[Transworld (publisher)|Corgi]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catch 22 By Joseph Heller Vintage 1973 Paperback Corgi Books Early Edition |url=https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/186123387462 |website=eBay}}</ref> [[Vintage (publisher)|Vintage]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (Paperback, 1994) Vintage |url=https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/296199155833?chn=ps&_ul=AU&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=705-166974-041499-5&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=296199155833&targetid=2274564709393&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9072253&poi=&campaignid=21085115440&mkgroupid=159531975733&rlsatarget=pla-2274564709393&abcId=9390515&merchantid=116297175&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0_WyBhDMARIsAL1Vz8s5gZ2mmv2KceW4vtMj2x2VcwTHTZjgw0KYyWpgFVXRFU3RBaOKD54aAoA_EALw_wcB |website=eBay}}</ref> [[Transworld (publisher)|Black Swan]],<ref>{{Cite book |title=Catch-22 Paperback – Import, January 1, 1985 by joseph-heller (Author) |isbn=0552991953 |last1=Heller |first1=Joseph |date=1985 |publisher=Black Swan }}</ref> [[Éditions Grasset]],<ref>{{Cite book |title=Catch 22 Paperback – January 1, 1985 French Edition by Joseph Heller (Author) |isbn=2246269318 |last1=Heller |first1=Joseph |date=2000 |publisher=B. Grasset }}</ref> and [[Wahlström & Widstrand]].

The original manuscript is held by [[Brandeis University]].<ref>[http://lts.brandeis.edu/research/archives-speccoll/findingguides/xml/heller.html Heller archive] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608094903/http://lts.brandeis.edu/research/archives-speccoll/findingguides/xml/heller.html |date=June 8, 2010 }}, Brandeis University.</ref>
* {{cite book |first=Joseph |last=Heller |title=Catch-22 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |date=June 1961 |orig-year=1961 |isbn=0-684-83339-5 |oclc=35231812 |type=hardback |url=https://archive.org/details/catch2200hell_0}}
* {{cite book | first=Joseph | last=Heller | title=Catch-22 | url=https://archive.org/details/catch22novel00hell | url-access=registration | date=1961 | publisher=Simon & Schuster | isbn=0-440-51120-8 | type=advance paperback with signed bookplate}}
* {{cite book | first=Joseph | last=Heller | title=Catch-22 | date=1978 | publisher=Franklin Library | isbn=0-8124-1717-8 | type=signed limited edition leatherbound}}
* {{cite book | first=Joseph | last=Heller | title=Catch-22 | publisher=Simon & Schuster | isbn=0-684-83339-5 | date=September 1996 | type=paperback | url=https://archive.org/details/catch2200hell_0 }}
* {{cite book | first=Joseph | last=Heller | title=Catch-22 | url=https://archive.org/details/catch22novelhell00hell | url-access=registration | publisher=Simon & Schuster | isbn=0-684-86513-0 | date=October 1999 | type=hardback}}
* {{cite book | first=Joseph | last=Heller | title=Catch-22 | date=1980 | publisher=Books On Tape | isbn=0-7366-8962-1 | type= unabridged audio cassette | others=reader Wolfram Kandinsky}}
* {{cite book | first=Joseph | last=Heller | title=Catch-22 | date=1984 | publisher=[[Caedmon Audio]] | isbn=0-694-50253-7 | type=audio cassette}}
* {{cite book | first=Joseph | last=Heller | title=Catch-22 | date=1990 | isbn=0-7366-9085-9 | publisher=Books On Tape| type=unabridged audio CD | others=reader [[Jim Weiss]]}}
* {{cite book | first=Joseph | last=Heller | title=Catch-22 | date=1994 | publisher=DH Audio | isbn=0-88646-125-1 | type=[[Abridgement|abridged]] edition audio cassette | others=reader [[Alan Arkin]]}}
* {{cite book | first=Joseph | last=Heller | title=Catch-22 | date=2007 | publisher=Caedmon | isbn=978-0-06-126246-3 | type=unabridged audio CD | others=reader [[Jay O. Sanders]]}}
* {{cite book | first=Joseph | last=Heller | title=Catch-22 | date=2008 | publisher=Hachette Audio | isbn=978-1-4055-0387-7 | type=unabridged audio CD | others=reader [[Trevor White (actor)|Trevor White]]}}

== See also ==
{{portal|Novels|1960s}}
* [[Antinomy]]
* [[Morton's fork]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.librarything.com/work/1479 Librarything.com with many photos of other ''Catch-22'' covers]
* [http://www.mansionbooks.com/BookDetail.php?bk=219 Photos of the first edition of ''Catch-22'']
* [http://www.figarospeech.com/it-figures/2007/6/17/did-the-earth-move-for-you.html Catch-22 as a figure of speech]
* [http://www.shmoop.com/catch-22 ''Catch-22'' study guide]&nbsp;– analysis, themes, quotes, and teaching guide
* [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/catch22-how-the-cult-classic-was-adapted-for-the-stage-9262950.html Why a novel so acclaimed took 46 years to make it to the stage: How the cult classic was adapted for the stage]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141212095416/http://www.afhra.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-080424-048.pdf History of combat crew rotation - World War II and Korean War]
* [http://www.dansetzer.us/heller/JHeller.pdf Historical Sources for the Events in Joseph Heller's Novel, Catch-22 By Daniel Setzer]

{{Heller}}
{{Catch-22}}
{{Authority control}}
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