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First edition, first printing. Based on Heller's wartime experiences in the United States Army Air Corps, the novel is a classic of both satire and anti-war literature. It has also influenced the English lexicon, as the work's title is now widely understood as describing a paradoxical or impossible situation. "Couched in humour reminiscent of a vaudeville act, it satirized militarism, nationalism, patriotism, discipline, ambition, loyalty, money, big business, sex, religion, mankind, and God. It questioned the values deeply held by the post-World War II generation by stating that dying for your country was futile, that leaders are fools who cannot be trusted, and that capitalism made victims of us all" (ANB). Octavo (205 x 136). Finely bound by the Chelsea Bindery in bright blue morocco, titles to spine blocked in white copied from the original spine, pictorial onlay of a red figure to front board copied from the dust jacket, decorative endpapers, gilt edges. A fine copy.

Catch-22 is a satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller, first published in 1961. The novel is set during World War II, from 1942 to 1944, and follows Captain John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bombardier, and the other airmen in the camp, who attempt to maintain their sanity while fulfilling their service requirements so that they can return home.