Probably the greatest World War II satire ever written (alongside Kurt Vonnegut's 'Slaughterhouse-Five'), 'Catch-22' follows the exploits of Yossarian, a US Army bombardier, and his friends whose duties near the Italian coast are becoming increasingly absurd. The phrase in the title refers to the predicament that you're only excused from the war if you're mad, but if you ask to be relieved because you're going mad must mean that you're sane.

Yossarian takes the whole war personally, and devises many ingenious ways of trying to avoid combat missions before being thwarted by his superiors. Be sure to check out the 1970 film adaptation with a stunning, all-star cast including a brilliant turn from Alan Arkin as Yossarian.

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