A novel set on an American Army Air Force base on the island of Pianosa off the coast of Italy during the last years of World War II (approximately 1944-45); published in 1961.
by Joseph Heller
Synopsis
A young bombardier, Yossarian, attempts to survive amid the chaos and absurdities of war.
Events in History at the Time the Novel Was Written
The Novel in Focus
Events in History at the Time the Novel Takes Place
Born May 1, 1923, Joseph Heller flew as a bombardier on some sixty combat missions for the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II. He went on to teach English at Pennsylvania State University, then worked in magazine publishing, meanwhile writing the novel Catch-22 in his free time. Set on an American overseas air base during the Second World War, the novel conveys a sense of the author's own wartime experience, more specifically his fears about dying in battle.
For More Information
Comer, John. Combat Crew. New York: William Morrow, 1988.
Fried, Richard. Nightmare in Red: The McCarthy Era in Perspective. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
Heller, Joseph. Catch-22. New York: Dell, 1961.
Joes, Anthony James. Mussolini. New York: Franklin Watts, 1982.
Ruderman, Judith. Joseph Heller. New York: Continuum, 1991.
Watry, Charles A. and Duane L. Hall. Aerial Gunners: The Unknown Aces of World War II. Carlsbad: California Aero Press, 1986.
Literature and Its Times © 1997 Joyce Moss and George Wilson © 2007 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
