You and Me, Babe — Chuck Barris

Published to acclaim in 1974 -- and substantially rewritten and expanded in this new edition -- You and Me, Babe was the New York Times best-seller that launched Chuck Barris's career as a top-selling author. But unlike his later books (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Bad Grass Never Dies), You and Me, Babe is the irresistible combination of a truly affecting love story motored by Barris's classic brand of unique humor. Set in 1960s New York City, the novel centers on Tommy, a blue-collar schemer, who sets out to marry Sammy, an opinionated but dysfunctional young heiress with enough smarts to stand up to his shenanigans, though not enough to see his true motives. Her parents, however, see all too clearly, and when Tommy and Sammy announce their intention to marry, the family disinherits their firebrand daughter. Not to worry: Tommy has fallen in love with Sammy in the meantime, and the couple's fortune and fame all on their own becomes the source for this winning, and ultimately moving, New York tale.