About Catch-22
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is a landmark American novel and one of the defining satires of war, bureaucracy, and institutional absurdity.
Set among American airmen stationed in the Mediterranean during World War II, the novel follows bombardier John Yossarian as he attempts to survive an ever-increasing number of combat missions while confronting a military system governed by circular logic, self-interest, and impossible rules.
At the center of the novel is the infamous Catch-22: a bureaucratic paradox in which a man who willingly continues flying dangerous missions may be considered insane, but anyone who asks to be removed from those missions demonstrates enough concern for his own safety to be considered sane and must therefore continue flying.
Blending dark comedy, absurdism, and the realities of combat, Heller examines military hierarchy, institutional power, profiteering, mortality, and the struggle to preserve individual humanity inside systems that often seem indifferent to it.
First published in 1961, Catch-22 became a classic of American literature and helped make the phrase “catch-22” part of everyday language.
Elliot Ackerman selected Catch-22 as his September 2026 Book Club Pick.
