CATCH - 22 [Signed]

New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1961. First Edition, 18th Printing. Hardcover. Octavo, 443 pages. In Very Good condition with a Very Good condition dust jacket. White spine with a blue rectangle and white lettering. Dust jacket is wrapped in a mylar covering, price is uncut "$13.95", has mild shelving wear, mild wear along the edges, chipping along the fore corners, and bending wear along the front flap. Boards have mild wear along the fore corners, light bumping along the front head fore corner, moderate age-toning along the head and tail edges, and stains on the rear cover. Textblock has a stain through the dedication page to page 8, a stain on page 6, mild wear along the edges, and moderate age-toning along the edges. Inscription on the front end-page reading "To Douglas Payne, With regards from Grace Neil, who tells me you enjoy this book, and with very sincere good wishes from me" signed Joseph Heller, dated "May 1, 1986 East Hampton, N.Y.". DL consignment. Shelved Room C. Joseph Heller was born May 1, 1923 on Coney Island, Brooklyn, NYC to poor Jewish immigrants from Russia. Heller had an early love for writing, writing a story about the Soviet invasion of Finland, which was rejected by the "New York Daily News". Heller would join the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942, performing over 60 missions flying a B-25 bomber. After graduating with an M.A. in English, Heller would work several jobs, writing as he worked, eventually coming up with the lines that would birth "Catch-22" in 1953.

"Catch-22" would be published in 1961, a satirical war novel based in part on Joseph Heller's personal experiences during World War II. After publication, "Catch-22" became big amongst younger circles who felt the novel encapsulated feelings about the Vietnam War. "Catch-22" remains a popular novel into the modern day, many noting it's seeming prescience about the chaos of the world to come. 1390120. Special Collections. (Inventory #: 1390120)