Joseph Heller

Joseph Heller was an American author best known for his debut novel Catch-22 (1961), a satire on war and bureaucracy. His work often explored themes of absurdity, disillusionment, and the individual's struggle against institutions. Heller served as a bombardier in World War II, flying 60 combat missions, an experience that heavily influenced his writing. After the war, he pursued higher education, earning degrees from New York University and Columbia University, and studied at Oxford as a Fulbright scholar. He worked in advertising before dedicating himself to writing. Heller's other notable works include "Something Happened," "Good as Gold," and "Closing Time," a sequel to "Catch-22." He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature multiple times. Heller died in 1999 at the age of 76.