Catch-22: Is the Novel Still Relevant to Modern Soldiers?
Catch-22: Is the Novel Still Relevant to Modern Soldiers? By Virginia Brown of BBC News Magazine.
The classic novel that coined the term describing impossible situations is celebrating its 50th birthday. So how close does Catch-22 come to accurately portraying today's military? …
Paul Bates, 42, understands Yossarian's plight. A lieutenant colonel with the British army's Royal Artillery regiment, he is currently working as the operations officer with the US Marine Corps in Afghanistan, he says Heller is spot-on in his depiction of this internal conflict.
"Many observers say that the character of conflict changes because of such things as technological advances. But the nature of conflict, the brutal, chaotic nature of it and the associated emotions – fear, exhilaration, anxiety, courage – remain the same"…