Portland Public Library

Just one catch, a biography of Joseph Heller, Tracy Daugherty

Label
Just one catch, a biography of Joseph Heller, Tracy Daugherty
Language
eng
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 477-529) and index
resource.biographical
individual biography
Illustrations
platesillustrations
Index
index present
Literary Form
non fiction
Main title
Just one catch
Nature of contents
bibliography
Oclc number
704383812
Responsibility statement
Tracy Daugherty
Sub title
a biography of Joseph Heller
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
Table Of Contents
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
Content
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