Before we lay to rest (perhaps) the Great American Novel–as unwieldy and confounding and beautiful as the land it came from–let us recall a time when such a book could capture the zeitgeist, wrestle it to the ground and influence even those who hadn’t read it. Joseph Heller was the author of such a novel in 1961 (Catch–22, of course), and even though I’m partial to Something Happened, I recognize how Yossarian and company crashed the culture. Stuff like this cut through the bullshit of war’s anonymity and reminded that it was a personal affront:

“They’re trying to kill me,” Yossarian told him calmly.
“No one’s trying to kill you,” Clevinger cried.
“Then why are they shooting at me?” Yossarian asked.
“They’re shooting at everyone,” Clevinger answered. “They’re trying to kill everyone.”
“And what difference does that make?”

On April 8, 1970, Heller, middle-aged hero to the young, lectured on the UCLA campus. He talked poorly of Governor Ronald Reagan and highly of King Lear. He also read 22′s Snowden death scene. Audio only embedded below.