Why didn’t Cecil give a spolier warning when discussing the book’s plot?
Uh, 'cause the book’s 40 years old, and anyone to whom the plot comes as a surprise is probably never going to read it? Because any discussion of the meaning of the central plot device necessarily involves discussing the plot?
Or maybe it’s just because Cecil didn’t write it; SDS Dex did.
BTW, it’s customary to include a link to the report:
Besides, there aren’t really any spoilers in the Report. The only aspect of the “plot” revealed by Dex is the damned if you do, damned if you don’t nature of the catch-22. There are specific events referred to in the Report, but they’re not really “Plot events”. It’s not like he’s saying who dies, or what becomes of the ones who survive after the war. And yes, I just gave away the fact that some characters do die, but it being a book about war, that should hardly be surprising.
Since this is a comment about a Staff Report rather than about one of Cecil’s columns, I’ll move this thread to the Comments on Staff Reports forum.
Read me now and believe me later, erictelevision ,those events in Dex’s report are not going to spoil the book. Out of the hundreds of books I’ve read, Catch-22 rates in the top handful. Time invested in reading it will not be time wasted. I was on the verge of saying something more flamboyant about Heller’s masterpiece, but no, it’s not that kind of day. Flamboyant doesn’t look right. Probably misspelled.
I was very careful not to reveal any plot elements. One of the deep plot elements, such as the secret that Snowden spills 
What I did reveal is the theme of the catch, which is pretty evident early on, and a few of the character quirks. The plot is, in fact, an intricate one and a trifle confusing on first reading, so I deliberately did NOT discuss any such elements.
This one really does have some spoiler info…
I just thought I would say (since Catch-22 is pretty easily in my top 5 greatest books ever written) that the staff report misses some of the feeling of this book. Not to take anything away from the report.
I have never read another book quite like Catch-22, one that has alternatively had me laughing out loud and awe-inspiringly exasperated at the antics of the characters, and yet presented some of the most tragically sad and human scenes in literature (when Snowden spilled his secret and the hopelessness of Yossarian’s reaction). It is truly amazing to me, having read this book several times, the variance in emotion that Heller can pull in this story.
So basically, it’s not just a satire or a comedy, because he deals realistically with humans at war with one another.
Also, the only other book I read by Heller is called Something Happened, and it too is an absolute work of art. I would recommend it to anybody!