Joseph Heller

Joseph Heller (May 1, 1923 - December 12, 1999) was an American satirist best remembered for writing the satiric World War II classic Catch-22. The literary devices established in this first novel continued in his other books. The book was partly based on Heller's own experiences and influenced among others Robert Altman's comedy M*A*S*H, and the subsequent long-running TV series, set in the Korean War. The phrase "catch-22" has entered the English language to signify a no-win situation, particularly one created by a law, regulation or circumstance.

Works

Novels

• Catch-22 (1961)
• Something Happened (1974)
• Good As Gold (1979)
• God Knows (1984)
• No Laughing Matter with Speed Vogel (1986)
• Picture This (1988)
• Closing Time (1994)
• Portrait Of The Artist As An Old Man (2000)

Autobiographies

• ' (1998).

Plays

• We Bombed in New Haven (1967)
• Clevinger's Trial (1973)