Rich Man, Poor Man by Irwin Shaw

RICH MAN, POOR MAN tells the story of Rudolph, Gretchen and Tom, the children of an embittered, impoverished German baker, growing up in a small town near New York City as World War II is drawing to a close.

These three are seen over a period of twenty-four years in scene after brilliant scene which build up into a revelation of twentieth-century American life: the mobility, the quick encounters, the big deals, the myth-making. Ranging from Manhattan in the effervescent post-war years, to Hollywood, bathed in uncertain sunshine, and to the deceptive peace of the Mediterranean coast, RICH MAN, POOR MAN is at once a triumphant study of character and a truly epic novel of America.