American literature of the second half of 20 century

Joseph Heller

• American author Joseph Heller’s novel Catch-22 (1961) centers on a World War II bomber pilot who attempts to avoid service by pleading insanity, only to be told that his wish to avoid combat proves he is sane and therefore fit to fly. In this 1970 recording, Heller discusses the theme of his novel as it relates to the growing controversy surrounding the role of the United States in the Vietnam War (1959-1975).

Heller's other novels include Something Happened (1974), a study of the fearfulness and anxiety of an American businessman; Good as Gold (1979); God Knows (1984); Picture This (1988); and Closing Time (1994), a sequel to Catch-22 that depicts a robust but aging Yossarian in a collapsing New York City during the early 1990s. Heller also wrote the plays We Bombed in New Haven (1967) and Catch-22: A Dramatization (1971), as well as the autobiographical works No Laughing Matter (1986) and Now and Then (1998).

• Heller's other novels include Something Happened (1974), a study of the fearfulness and anxiety of an American businessman; Good as Gold (1979); God Knows (1984); Picture This (1988); and Closing Time (1994), a sequel to Catch-22 that depicts a robust but aging Yossarian in a collapsing New York City during the early 1990s. Heller also wrote the plays We Bombed in New Haven (1967) and Catch-22: A Dramatization (1971), as well as the autobiographical works No Laughing Matter (1986) and Now and Then (1998).