Joseph Heller

Fifty 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. In recent years it has been named to “best novels” lists by Time, Newsweek, the Modern Library, and the London Observer. 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...

Thirty-three years and over ten million copies later...the classic story continues. Yossarian returns -- older, if not wiser -- to face a new foe. An instant classic when published in 1961, Joseph Heller's Catch-22 still ranks among the funniest -- and most serious -- novels ever written about war. Now Heller has dared to write the sequel to his 10-million copy bestseller, using many of Catch-22's characters to deftly satirize the realities and the...

An evening of readings and discussion: Heller's friends and colleagues including Christopher Buckley, Robert Gottlieb, and Mike Nichols. They revisit his classic black comedy set at the end of World War II, one of the most important books about patriotism, honor, and the absurdities of war and beauracracy of the 20th century. The conversation is led by Lesley Stahl. An excerpt is performed by Scott Shepherd (Gatz).

Yossarian, a reluctant bombadier stationed in the Mediterranean in World War II, has come to the utterly sane conclusion that everyone is trying to kill him. The Germans, yes, but also commanding officers supposedly on his own side like Col. Cathcart, who keeps raising the number of missions his flyers must perform to finish their tours. Everybody seems equally dead-set on his destruction, and Yossarian is just as determined to stay alive. An enormous...

Based on the acclaimed Joseph Heller novel, Catch-22 follows the adventures and misadventures of a US air squadron in Italy in World War II, where the real enemy of the soldiers is actually the bureaucracy of the military.

Snoopy tabloid magazine editor Bob Weston wants to know if author Helen Gurley Brown based her book on, as he believes, personal research. He tries to parley an interview with the author who made headlines and sales. So he decides to get very personal to find out for himself.