Title
Just one catch : a biography of Joseph Heller / Tracy Daugherty.
Edition
1st ed.
ISBN
9780312596859
0312596855
Imprint
New York : St. Martin's Press, 2011.
Language
English
Description
xii, 548 p., [16] p. of plates : ill. ; 25 cm.
Call Number
PS3558.E476 Z63 2011
Dewey Decimal Classification
813/.54 B
Summary
"In time for the 50th anniversary of Catch-22, Tracy Daugherty, the critically acclaimed author of Hiding Man (a New Yorker and New York Times Notable book), illuminates his most vital subject yet in this first biography of Joseph Heller. Joseph Heller was a Coney Island kid, the son of Russian immigrants, who went on to great fame and fortune. His most memorable novel took its inspiration from a mission he flew over France in WWII (his plane was filled with so much shrapnel it was a wonder it stayed in the air). Heller wrote seven novels, all of which remain in print. Something Happened and Good as Gold, to name two, are still considered the epitome of satire. His life was filled with women and romantic indiscretions, but he was perhaps more famous for his friendships--he counted Mel Brooks, Zero Mostel, Carl Reiner, Kurt Vonnegut, Norman Mailer, Mario Puzo, Dustin Hoffman, Woody Allen, and many others among his confidantes. In 1981 Heller was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre; Syndrome, a debilitating syndrome that could have cost him his life. Miraculously, he recovered. When he passed away in 1999 from natural causes, he left behind a body of work that continues to sell hundreds of thousands of copies a year. Just One Catch is the first biography of Yossarian's creator, with cooperation by the estate"--Provided by publisher.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Prologue: Yo-yo
Part one: Good fellows. Domestic engagements
A Coney Island of the mind
Fear of filing
A cold war
"I don't love you any more"
Part two: Happy Valley. Words in a box
Naked
Tea and sympathy
Part three: Live forever. Caught inside
18
22
Part four: What happened. The realist
Bombs
Where is World War II?
The willies
Part five: Die trying. Hard to swallow
Go figure
The new world
Closing time
When they speak of the war
Epilogue: Cleaning house.
