Max, this afternoon, when I could finally get to the Internet, I found that I was going to have a unique, personal experience. This is the first time in my life where I was some terrific author's "muse." I'm proud that my small offering last week was part of the inspiration for this wonder column.
As everyone who has read my comments to your columns knows, I am very impressed by this special talent that you have, which is apart and different, from your entertaining novels. And, it's apparent once again in your excellent column today.
I'm not musically trained. Which, if I were, would have been a waste, since I have no musical talent whatsoever. In fact, I was the only member of the St. Francis Xavier Fifth Grade Chorus to be ordered to NOT sing. It was emotionally traumatic, but everyone in the Parish, especially my family, agreed with that decision.
I know virtually nothing of the construction of musical pieces , except (unlike Clevinger) I do enjoy listening to it. So, I'm just spit balling here, but your columns all contain various subjects, the relevance of which to your theme is demonstrated seamlessly. It's really impressive. These columns remind me of good music. Am I wrong?
Another fan of yours, with whom I've discussed your columns, described them as "SYMPHONIC." That made a lot of sense to me.
Like you, I read Catch 22 several times. As you know, I did serve as a Paratrooper in Vietnam after my second full reading of the book. Joseph Heller and Catch 22 did influence my experience in a combat zone.
But, to be fair. I read "Devils in Baggy Pants," about a Parachute Infantry Regiment that served in North Africa, Sicilia, Salerno (Italy), Mountain Campaign (Southern Italy), Anzio (Central Italy), Normandy Invasion (limited volunteers), Market Garden (Holland), and the Battle of the Bulge.
I paid rapt attention to the stories, and the lessons that these books offered. Devils helped me to understand how to approach my role as an Airborne Infantryman, and mentally prepare. Catch 22, taught me to maintain a sense of humor (frequently a dark one) when faced with the absurdities of life in a combat zone while serving in a feudal, non-democratic, militaristic, caste system with the power to imprison a person for having a bad attitude or being late for work.
I credit both books for making my time in the Army much easier. And, ironically, Catch 22 made even more sense after I got my commission. It was especially relevant during my time at the White House Office of Emergency Operations. I think Heller wrote the manual for making sausage in Washington.
Well, you've done that for me through your own writing. One of your more graphic scenes, inside the hollow of a tree, manifested a physical claustrophobic response. Unlike my time in MRI's, I had no valium to deal with it Heh!!
Max, you're doing really good work here. Your style and Steve's very different approach are really compelling and highly entertaining. A lot of blogs have folks who write well, this effort is something special.
In 1966 I was in the army in Germany working as a driver for a very insecure recently promoted one star general in the 3rd Armored division in hanau. The division hq was in Frankfurt and I often drove the general to meetings and waited for him by the car. One day I was sitting in the car reading Catch-22, not paying attention completely engrossed with the goings on of yossarion, Major Major, etc. The general walked up to car, saw I wasn’t jumping to attention and opening his door and banged on the window! I jumped out of the car with book in hand. He yelled at me. Something to the effect of what the $&@/ are you doing and noticed the book. “What’s that you’re reading? Let me see that!” Looks at the title. “YOU CAN’T READ THIS CRAP!” And threw it as far as he could! I went to the book store and bought another copy as soon as I could get there. Kept that copy and reread it for years. My grandson recently read it.
Joseph's CO reminds me of the major general Carroll O'Connor played in Kelly's Heroes, which by the way I'm convinced is what got him the role of Archie Bunker.
Explaining the location of troop activity, his effete nephew/aide de camp explains with a French accent that it's near "Clare-mohn."
"Booker!" O'Connor bellows, "Do you mean 'Clairmont'???!!!"
My wife and I were once shopping at a Jewish supermarket in Skokie, when a large group of Arab-looking people came parading down the street. It looked scary, but it turned out that they were Assyrian Christians, and thus not dangerous. Around Detroit, there is a similar group called Chaldeans.
In the compendium of works where I've both read the book and seen the movie - admittedly pretty miniscule - I found the greatest gap in quality to be Catch-22. "Disjointed" is the perfect word for the movie; for my money not even in the same universe as Heller's wonderful book. I would have vastly preferred 2 hours 20 minutes of Day in the Life of Farmer Major.
Max: a minor correction--James Webb graduated from the United States Naval Academy, not West Point. His book, A Sense of Honor, about life at the Naval Academy is a good read although not quite as good, in my opinion, as Fields of Fire which I rank as the greatest novel about the Vietnam war.
I read Catch-22 while going through medic training before heading off for my tour in Vietnam in 1970 and it's still one of my favorite books. I also made the mistake of reading Richard Hooker's book M*A*S*H* during that same time--not the best plan before going off to work in a military hospital in Southeast Asia.
"I'm not the man I was!", so says Alistair Sim's Scrooge in the 1950's excellent version of A Christmas Carol". I read Catch-22 50+ years ago. Revisiting books and movies after many years is a two edged sword. Many do not stand the test of time, but for me, many do not stand the test of MY time on the planet. Whoever I was that either enjoyed or was nonplussed by the original experience, is far away from me now. As Forrest Gump might say, "you never know what you're gonna get". Or perhaps whom. Perhaps Podhoretz experienced that.
I too have revisited books and movies and songs I once like and been disappointed.
Perhaps Podhoretz did experience that. But that is not what he wrote. He imposed his own narrow ideological understanding no superior to the narrow view of Mike Nichols. A successful work of art must reflect some complexity of human experience. Heller tried for that. Podhoretz rejected the effort and the results because Heller's characters said and did things he didn't like.
I recently saw a podcast interview of David Zucker and thought I might watch Airplane! again. But now I'm not so sure. Perhaps best left to the fond memories of laughing my ass off when I was a young adult. (And don't call me Shirley).
I thought the characters/comic performances held up well since it was intended to be absolutely absurdist . What people will do for greed is an eternally lampoonable theme.
Didn't Ethel Merman get lifted upside down to shake loose a key or some other clue? Priceless.
I am very sympathetic with Norman Podhoretz' view, as I consider Catch-22 one of the major building blocks of the Great Disruption of the 1960's. But then I'm not a writer nor an artist, just someone who lived through a time in which the people a few years younger than my wife and me--basically our little brothers and sisters--stopped loving their country and turned to drugs, free sex, narcissism and Neo-Marxist ideology. I love you, Max, but I feel differently about this issue.
Somehow I never read Catch-22, neither in high school or college. Not sure how I managed that feat given its reputation. Saw the move, it wasn't good. Your essay has inspired me to get a copy and fill in that gap. Thanks!
What's it like in the Cossack household with one member having a Friday column due, the other a Thursday column? Followed by the requisite responses to commenters. Is there a sane day of the week there in the DLV?
Thanks for writing about Catch-22. One of my two all time favorite books, the other is The Catcher on the Rye. It has been quite a while since I have opened Catch-22 and read it again. I always had trouble with the ending but the rest was wonderful as Yossarion was with the soldier in white and how he made a point of doing nothing so time would go by slower. At around the time Catch-22 was popular, we had M*A*S*H. Life has moved on and it seems our society has lost its ability to laugh at itself
My father took me, age 15, and my younger brother and sister to see Catch-22 in a theater in 1970. I have no idea what he was thinking. We also saw M*A*S*H that year. I have questions...
For you and Diana (below): My small town in rural MN did not have a dress shop with Prom dresses. My father had to go to a meeting in the larger town of St. Cloud and he took me to shop for a Prom dress and my little sister who was about 9 came along. When he went to his meeting, he gave us money for a burger and movie and we went to Tom Jones! Mrs. Cossack
I read Catch 22 as a late teen, many years ago, and have fond memories of the experience. Recently, I found a copy at a local bookstore and thought it would be fun to read it again so many years later. I have started several times now, and it mostly sits, gathering dust on my side table. I possibly will try again, but it is not the same book I once read!
Found the citation for Heller's McHales Navy episode. From Wikipedia:
Season 1, Episode 4 - November 1, 1962
"PT 73, Where Are You?" Written By Joseph Heller
Virgil (Edson Stroll), PT 73 Gunner's Mate, loses the 73 while taking a nightly ride to charm an island girl. Binghamton finds out and is ready to have McHale in front of a court martial. The crew arranges for a replacement so they can take a week's R&R trip to New Caledonia. Things get complicated when Virgil comes back with the 73.
I did watch part of it on YouTube. The writer's name is given as "Joe Heller." The episode starts out as the usual sitcom wacky hijinks. So I stand corrected. Thanks!
Max, this afternoon, when I could finally get to the Internet, I found that I was going to have a unique, personal experience. This is the first time in my life where I was some terrific author's "muse." I'm proud that my small offering last week was part of the inspiration for this wonder column.
As everyone who has read my comments to your columns knows, I am very impressed by this special talent that you have, which is apart and different, from your entertaining novels. And, it's apparent once again in your excellent column today.
I'm not musically trained. Which, if I were, would have been a waste, since I have no musical talent whatsoever. In fact, I was the only member of the St. Francis Xavier Fifth Grade Chorus to be ordered to NOT sing. It was emotionally traumatic, but everyone in the Parish, especially my family, agreed with that decision.
I know virtually nothing of the construction of musical pieces , except (unlike Clevinger) I do enjoy listening to it. So, I'm just spit balling here, but your columns all contain various subjects, the relevance of which to your theme is demonstrated seamlessly. It's really impressive. These columns remind me of good music. Am I wrong?
Another fan of yours, with whom I've discussed your columns, described them as "SYMPHONIC." That made a lot of sense to me.
Like you, I read Catch 22 several times. As you know, I did serve as a Paratrooper in Vietnam after my second full reading of the book. Joseph Heller and Catch 22 did influence my experience in a combat zone.
But, to be fair. I read "Devils in Baggy Pants," about a Parachute Infantry Regiment that served in North Africa, Sicilia, Salerno (Italy), Mountain Campaign (Southern Italy), Anzio (Central Italy), Normandy Invasion (limited volunteers), Market Garden (Holland), and the Battle of the Bulge.
I paid rapt attention to the stories, and the lessons that these books offered. Devils helped me to understand how to approach my role as an Airborne Infantryman, and mentally prepare. Catch 22, taught me to maintain a sense of humor (frequently a dark one) when faced with the absurdities of life in a combat zone while serving in a feudal, non-democratic, militaristic, caste system with the power to imprison a person for having a bad attitude or being late for work.
I credit both books for making my time in the Army much easier. And, ironically, Catch 22 made even more sense after I got my commission. It was especially relevant during my time at the White House Office of Emergency Operations. I think Heller wrote the manual for making sausage in Washington.
So, Max, another Grand Slam. Thanks!!!!
Tony, a book which affects how you live is a rare and wonderful thing.
Well, you've done that for me through your own writing. One of your more graphic scenes, inside the hollow of a tree, manifested a physical claustrophobic response. Unlike my time in MRI's, I had no valium to deal with it Heh!!
Max, you're doing really good work here. Your style and Steve's very different approach are really compelling and highly entertaining. A lot of blogs have folks who write well, this effort is something special.
In 1966 I was in the army in Germany working as a driver for a very insecure recently promoted one star general in the 3rd Armored division in hanau. The division hq was in Frankfurt and I often drove the general to meetings and waited for him by the car. One day I was sitting in the car reading Catch-22, not paying attention completely engrossed with the goings on of yossarion, Major Major, etc. The general walked up to car, saw I wasn’t jumping to attention and opening his door and banged on the window! I jumped out of the car with book in hand. He yelled at me. Something to the effect of what the $&@/ are you doing and noticed the book. “What’s that you’re reading? Let me see that!” Looks at the title. “YOU CAN’T READ THIS CRAP!” And threw it as far as he could! I went to the book store and bought another copy as soon as I could get there. Kept that copy and reread it for years. My grandson recently read it.
This story reminds me of the scene in the book in which Major Danby offends General Dreedle, who orders, "Take him out and shoot him."
But it turns out that's against the rules.
“You mean I can’t shoot anyone I want to?” General Dreedle
demanded with uncompromising indignation. He pricked up his ears
with interest as Colonel Moodus continued whispering. “Is that a
fact?” he inquired, his rage tamed by curiosity.
Joseph's CO reminds me of the major general Carroll O'Connor played in Kelly's Heroes, which by the way I'm convinced is what got him the role of Archie Bunker.
Explaining the location of troop activity, his effete nephew/aide de camp explains with a French accent that it's near "Clare-mohn."
"Booker!" O'Connor bellows, "Do you mean 'Clairmont'???!!!"
General Dreedle's aide was his detested son-in-law. A steal?
My wife and I were once shopping at a Jewish supermarket in Skokie, when a large group of Arab-looking people came parading down the street. It looked scary, but it turned out that they were Assyrian Christians, and thus not dangerous. Around Detroit, there is a similar group called Chaldeans.
In the compendium of works where I've both read the book and seen the movie - admittedly pretty miniscule - I found the greatest gap in quality to be Catch-22. "Disjointed" is the perfect word for the movie; for my money not even in the same universe as Heller's wonderful book. I would have vastly preferred 2 hours 20 minutes of Day in the Life of Farmer Major.
Thanks for this great piece Max.
My thoughts exactly, a great book made into a very average movie.
Thank you for your tribute to this legacy.
Max: a minor correction--James Webb graduated from the United States Naval Academy, not West Point. His book, A Sense of Honor, about life at the Naval Academy is a good read although not quite as good, in my opinion, as Fields of Fire which I rank as the greatest novel about the Vietnam war.
I read Catch-22 while going through medic training before heading off for my tour in Vietnam in 1970 and it's still one of my favorite books. I also made the mistake of reading Richard Hooker's book M*A*S*H* during that same time--not the best plan before going off to work in a military hospital in Southeast Asia.
Joe, thanks for the (not minor) correction! Richard Lowe beat you to it--and Steve has already said he'll correct the error, as I did in my own files.
As usual I learned a lot from your post. Thanks much.
"I'm not the man I was!", so says Alistair Sim's Scrooge in the 1950's excellent version of A Christmas Carol". I read Catch-22 50+ years ago. Revisiting books and movies after many years is a two edged sword. Many do not stand the test of time, but for me, many do not stand the test of MY time on the planet. Whoever I was that either enjoyed or was nonplussed by the original experience, is far away from me now. As Forrest Gump might say, "you never know what you're gonna get". Or perhaps whom. Perhaps Podhoretz experienced that.
I too have revisited books and movies and songs I once like and been disappointed.
Perhaps Podhoretz did experience that. But that is not what he wrote. He imposed his own narrow ideological understanding no superior to the narrow view of Mike Nichols. A successful work of art must reflect some complexity of human experience. Heller tried for that. Podhoretz rejected the effort and the results because Heller's characters said and did things he didn't like.
I recently saw a podcast interview of David Zucker and thought I might watch Airplane! again. But now I'm not so sure. Perhaps best left to the fond memories of laughing my ass off when I was a young adult. (And don't call me Shirley).
I rewatched It’s a Mad Mad World and it wasn’t that funny as it once was
I thought the characters/comic performances held up well since it was intended to be absolutely absurdist . What people will do for greed is an eternally lampoonable theme.
Didn't Ethel Merman get lifted upside down to shake loose a key or some other clue? Priceless.
Fair point. I will have to reread Catch 22 to see I still respond the way Podhoretz did.
I am very sympathetic with Norman Podhoretz' view, as I consider Catch-22 one of the major building blocks of the Great Disruption of the 1960's. But then I'm not a writer nor an artist, just someone who lived through a time in which the people a few years younger than my wife and me--basically our little brothers and sisters--stopped loving their country and turned to drugs, free sex, narcissism and Neo-Marxist ideology. I love you, Max, but I feel differently about this issue.
Somehow I never read Catch-22, neither in high school or college. Not sure how I managed that feat given its reputation. Saw the move, it wasn't good. Your essay has inspired me to get a copy and fill in that gap. Thanks!
What's it like in the Cossack household with one member having a Friday column due, the other a Thursday column? Followed by the requisite responses to commenters. Is there a sane day of the week there in the DLV?
There has never been a sane day in the DLV anyway. :)
Thanks for writing about Catch-22. One of my two all time favorite books, the other is The Catcher on the Rye. It has been quite a while since I have opened Catch-22 and read it again. I always had trouble with the ending but the rest was wonderful as Yossarion was with the soldier in white and how he made a point of doing nothing so time would go by slower. At around the time Catch-22 was popular, we had M*A*S*H. Life has moved on and it seems our society has lost its ability to laugh at itself
Thank you for this piece. One minor quibble: James Webb graduated from the USNA at Annapolis, not West Point.
Thanks--that's not minor!
I'll fix!
Thanks, Steve!--I already fixed it in my draft.
My father took me, age 15, and my younger brother and sister to see Catch-22 in a theater in 1970. I have no idea what he was thinking. We also saw M*A*S*H that year. I have questions...
For you and Diana (below): My small town in rural MN did not have a dress shop with Prom dresses. My father had to go to a meeting in the larger town of St. Cloud and he took me to shop for a Prom dress and my little sister who was about 9 came along. When he went to his meeting, he gave us money for a burger and movie and we went to Tom Jones! Mrs. Cossack
I also went to an "inappropriate" film at age 10: Where the Boys Are. The end of innocence.
I had a similar experience when I took my son to see the foul movie "Neighbors."
At age 17 I saw Deliverance with friends at the local movie house. That was a mistake.
Oh my heavens! I was terrified to go to Georgia! Just as I was terrified ever again to have a shower after Psycho. Committed bather ever since! Susan
It is obvious, I love this book! Like Nostradamus, Heller predicted Trump in the character of Milo Minderbinder!
I read Catch 22 as a late teen, many years ago, and have fond memories of the experience. Recently, I found a copy at a local bookstore and thought it would be fun to read it again so many years later. I have started several times now, and it mostly sits, gathering dust on my side table. I possibly will try again, but it is not the same book I once read!
Found the citation for Heller's McHales Navy episode. From Wikipedia:
Season 1, Episode 4 - November 1, 1962
"PT 73, Where Are You?" Written By Joseph Heller
Virgil (Edson Stroll), PT 73 Gunner's Mate, loses the 73 while taking a nightly ride to charm an island girl. Binghamton finds out and is ready to have McHale in front of a court martial. The crew arranges for a replacement so they can take a week's R&R trip to New Caledonia. Things get complicated when Virgil comes back with the 73.
Thanks, I'm not convinced, but I'll watch it. Wikipedia is notoriously unreliable. :)
That's true, I should have added a disclaimer. =)
I did watch part of it on YouTube. The writer's name is given as "Joe Heller." The episode starts out as the usual sitcom wacky hijinks. So I stand corrected. Thanks!
You can also see it on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0644922/?ref_=ttfc_fcr_epp_sm_1