Big Books of 2026
Joseph Heller

Joseph Heller’s Followers (3,057)

member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo

Add New
Videos

Catch-22
1 comment

More videos…

Joseph Heller


Born
in New York City, The United States
May 01, 1923

Died
December 12, 1999

Genre
Literature & Fiction

Influences
William Saroyon


Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Joseph Heller was an American author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays. His best-known work is the 1961 novel Catch-22, a satire on war and bureaucracy, whose title has become a synonym for an absurd or contradictory choice. He was nominated in 1972 for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Combine Editions

Average rating: 3.97 · 911,202 ratings · 29,242 reviews · 76 distinct works • Similar authors
Catch-22
3.99 avg rating — 884,463 ratings — published 1961 — 30 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Something Happened
3.54 avg rating — 8,591 ratings — published 1974 — 51 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Closing Time (Catch-22, #2)
3.07 avg rating — 6,214 ratings — published 1994 — 61 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
God Knows
3.80 avg rating — 3,743 ratings — published 1984 — 57 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Good As Gold
3.39 avg rating — 3,415 ratings — published 1979 — 82 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Picture This
3.71 avg rating — 1,638 ratings — published 1988 — 38 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Portrait of an Artist, as a...
3.23 avg rating — 1,400 ratings — published 2000 — 23 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Catch As Catch Can: The Col...
3.54 avg rating — 534 ratings — published 2003 — 12 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
No Laughing Matter
3.62 avg rating — 466 ratings — 25 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Work
3.62 avg rating — 305 ratings — published 2017 — 4 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
More books by Joseph Heller…

Series by Joseph Heller

Catch-22 Closing Time
(2 books)
by
3.98 avg rating — 890,599 ratings

Related News

Say what you will about George R.R. Martin's long-awaited fantasy installment, Winds of Winter. Some of the sequels in our roundup below have...
Read more...
59 likes · 25 comments
Ready to see some of your favorite stories come to life? Hollywood producers, directors, and actors are continuing their obsession...
Read more...
191 likes · 97 comments
Quotes by Joseph Heller  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“He was going to live forever, or die in the attempt.”
― Joseph Heller, Catch-22
3513 likes
Like

“Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.”
― Joseph Heller, Catch-22
tags: misattributed-kurt-cobain
3321 likes
Like

“Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.”
― Joseph Heller
tags: humor
1493 likes
Like

Polls

November 2022 Revisit the Shelf Poll

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961) 453 pages, last read Nov. 2013.
 
  39 votes, 26.4%

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (1969) 340 pp., last read Dec. 2018
 
  25 votes, 16.9%

The Secret History by Donna Tartt (1992) 559 pp., last read Oct. 2018
 
  24 votes, 16.2%

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (1956) 159 pp., last read July 2018
 
  19 votes, 12.8%

Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897) 488 pp., last read April 2019
 
  15 votes, 10.1%

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (1875) 245 pages, last read May 2016
 
  14 votes, 9.5%

Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll (1871) 228 pages, last read March 2020
 
  12 votes, 8.1%

148 total votes
More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
50 Books' Book Club: August's Book 20 223 Aug 08, 2009 09:54AM  
Pick-a-Shelf: 2009-12 - Humor - What will you Read in December? 43 74 Dec 14, 2009 06:22AM  
Glens Falls (NY) ...: One Hit Wonders--in the literary world? 19 89 Jun 23, 2010 11:20AM  
The Life of a Boo...: Kim's TBR Challenge 21 109 Jul 02, 2010 10:58AM  
Book Nook Cafe: What I read in August 2010 127 118 Oct 03, 2010 01:15PM  
Between the Lines: World War 1 & 2 22 92 Oct 24, 2010 07:10AM  
The Next Best Boo...: November Group Read winners!!! 55 217 Oct 28, 2010 02:57AM