One of the few books to have contributed to the everyday English language, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is a truly comedic and iconic novel. Tracing the day-to-day lives of the pilots of the 256th squadron located in Europe during WWII, the reader follows the antics of every single soldier. The book starts off with Yossarian, a bombardier in the squadron, who is the epitome of lazy and will do anything to avoid going into combat. He has an aversion for war, not because of the casualties, but rather because of the effort involved in continuously flying over cities and dropping bombs. He and his friends would much rather feign an illness in order to rest in the hospital in order to avoid flying more missions. They are all under the despotic control of a General who likes to do nothing more but raise the mission count in order to have his men fly more than all of the other squadrons. The book traces the time that the soldiers are at war, starting with the first few days and ends with the last days of the soldiers, many of them passing on. The daily antics of the soldiers and the reality of the war are effortlessly combined into a concise and easy-to-read novel that will keep the reader entertained for days.
     Combining his personal experiences of the war, Joseph Heller creates a believable set of characters that are easy to connect with. Gone are the clichés that are common of most novels and instead the reader finds down to earth characters that do not mask their true feelings and characteristics. Many of the characters are genuinely lazy, many crude beings, and many alcoholics who do not belong in the regimental armed forces. The raw truthfulness of the author only makes the book more enjoyable. The rote actions are made interesting as the book offers insight into the life of a common soldier. Too often we hear stories of unwavering heroism, but the stories of privates are never shared and we only hear the horrors of the war. The author does a great job in balancing the two sides. Join the squadron and listen to the story of Milo Minderbinder, a soldier turned chef turned entrepreneur, who runs the largest syndicate in Europe and makes a profit by selling fresh eggs for less than he purchased them for. Listen to the story of Doc Daneeka, a sour old doctor who was forced to join the military because his clinic went bankrupt. Listen to the story of Orr, a pilot who deliberately practices crashing so that he can safely abort the war and live freely in Sweden.
     Catch-22 offers an insight into the lives of soldiers during the war. Furthermore, the book surprisingly accurately depicts the horrors of the war. The author manages to leave the jocular tone of the book and adopts a more morose one to illustrate the effects that war can have on civilians. Crimes arise, prostitution increases, violent crime rates skyrocket, and many more crimes against humanity are committed. All in all, this is a fantastically balanced book that not only delivers fun filled moments, but also presents the realities that are present. This is a book that every bibliophile should read in their lifetime.