The Magic Christian by Terry Southern

This very short, somewhat dated-feeling, yet amusing novel is about an eccentric billionaire whose only goal in life is to use his vast fortunes to create disorder, and prove that people will do anything for money, no matter how degrading or distasteful--even crawl into a pit of steaming offal. This is a man who really likes not just to piss people off, but to completely mystify them in the process--kind of a mindfuck, if you will.

I love this cover, how Ringo Starr just blends right into the wallpaper. His character was created solely for the movie adaptation of this book (it was written solely for Ringo, in fact), so it actually makes sense that he's sort of nonexistent, as he doesn't appear once within its pages.

Apparently Peter Sellers (also seen on the cover) loved this book so much that he sent it to Stanley Kubrick, who was inspired to hire Southern to write the screenplay for Dr. Strangelove. Good instincts, Peter.