Joseph Heller books

Anthologies

Catch 22 Reading Order

Non-Fiction

Standalone Novels

Joseph Heller published his first novel, Catch-22, in 1961, and it became one of the defining American novels of the 20th century. The book follows Captain Yossarian, a World War II bombardier who wants nothing more than to stop flying dangerous missions, and it uses dark humor and fragmented chronology to portray the absurdity of war and military bureaucracy. The novel was slow to find an audience at first but became a bestseller during the Vietnam War era, when its anti-war message resonated strongly.

Heller published six more novels after Catch-22, though none achieved the same cultural impact. Something Happened (1974) is a bleak satire of corporate life, Good as Gold (1979) skewers Washington politics, and God Knows (1984) retells the biblical story of King David. He returned to Yossarian with Closing Time (1994), a sequel set decades after the war. His non-fiction includes the memoir Now and Then (1998) and No Laughing Matter (1986), an account of his recovery from Guillain-Barre syndrome. Heller died in 1999, leaving behind a body of work shaped by his experience as a bombardier in the same war his most famous character tried so hard to escape.