Catch-22, the classic novel by Joseph Heller, will be the focus of renewed interest later this year when Hulu airs a six-part series based on the book directed by George Clooney, who also plays the indelicately named General Scheisskopf (look it up in a German dictionary). Christopher Abbott plays Captain John Yossarian; the series also stars Hugh Laurie, Kyle Chandler and Giancarlo Giannini. (In 1970, Catch-22 was adapted for a movie directed by Mike Nichols and starring Alan Arkin.)
Set in Italy during World War II, Catch-22 focuses on a group of U.S. airmen who are flying dangerous bombing missions and trying desperately to maintain their sanity in the face of military and political illogic and the brutality of war.
The book, of course, gave rise to wonderful phrase Catch-22, meaning a no-win or absurd situation, in which a goal or a task can't be accomplished until a requirement is met, but that requirement can't be met until the goal is achieved. For example, some writers find they can't publish a book until they have an agent, but some agents won't take on a client until he or she has published a book.
Happily there's no Catch-22 about finding a copy of this book. A 50th anniversary edition of Catch-22 was published by Simon & Schuster in 2011 ($18, 9781451626650).