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Catch-22
by HELLER, Joseph (1923-1999)
- Used
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Jonathan Cape, 1962. [Wartime satire] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x14cm), pp.443; [1]. Publisher's red cloth, gilt titles to spine, top edge tinted green, second issue dust-jacket, with five reviews replacing the section of the text reprinted on the rear cover. Slightest sign of shelf wear to the cloth. Dust-jacket shows very well with just a couple of thumb marks to the rear panel, slight toning to the spine, and a little creasing to the top edge. Near fine. American author and former combat pilot Joseph Heller's defining work; the satirical anti-war novel, set in Italy during the Second World War.
Synopsis
Catch-22 is Joseph Heller’s first novel and his most acclaimed work. Set during World War II, the novel uses a distinctive non-chronological third-person omniscient narration, mainly focusing on the life of Captain John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bombardier. Occasionally, the narrator also shows us how other characters, such as the chaplain or Hungry Joe, experience the world around them. As the novel’s events are described from the different points of view through separate out-of-sequence storylines, the timeline of Catch-22 develops along with the plot. The novel's title refers to a plot device that is repeatedly invoked in the story. Catch-22 starts as a set of paradoxical requirements whereby airmen mentally unfit to fly did not have to, but could not actually be excused. By the end of the novel, the phrase is invoked as the explanation for many unreasonable restrictions. “Catch-22” has since entered the English language and can be understood as an unsolvable logic puzzle, a difficult situation from which there is no escape. Upon publication, the book was not a best seller in the United States. It was merely a cult favorite until the publication of the paperback edition in 1962, which set record sales — most likely benefitting from a national debate about the pointlessness of the Vietnam War. Catch-22 has since been ranked as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century by the Modern Library, one of the 20th century's top 100 novels by the Radcliffe Publishing Course, and one of the 100 greatest novels of all time by The Observer.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Adrian Harrington Rare Books
(GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 49710
- Title
- Catch-22
- Author
- HELLER, Joseph (1923-1999)
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- London: Jonathan Cape, 1962
- Bookseller catalogs
- LITERATURE;
Terms of Sale
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About the Seller
Adrian Harrington Rare Books
Biblio member since 2005
Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent
About Adrian Harrington Rare Books
Adrian Harrington began trading in 1971, as part of Harrington Brothers in the Chelsea Antiques Market on London's fashionable King's Road. He moved to Kensington Church Street in 1997, and in 2014 Adrian relocated to the historic Hall's Bookshop in Royal Tunbridge Wells, occupying the first floor of this iconic building near The Pantiles area of the town. Hall's remains on the ground floor offering an exceptional range of quality used books.Adrian Harrington Rare Books deal in a wide selection of literature, modern first editions, leather bound library sets, children's and illustrated books, and fine and rare antiquarian and old books in all fields. We also offer a full and expert bookbinding and restoration service.Award-winning Ian Fleming Bibliographer Jon Gilbert curates our world-class stock of James Bond material, including first edition novels, film posters, original scripts and associated ephemera.We are always interested in buying quality books in our subject areas, from individual titles to complete collections.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Shelf Wear
- Shelf wear (shelfwear) describes damage caused over time to a book by placing and removing a book from a shelf. This damage is...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
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