Descent from the Hill

About the Book

Justin Windsor’s conventional, patrician life drastically changes in September of 1960, when he enrolls at the Hill, a liberal arts college steeped in tradition and tucked away in the pastoral environs of America’s northeast. It’s here that Justin and three college roommates embark on a lifelong journey. Th e lives of Justin, Nick Gensini, Marc Goldstein, and Chuck Mitchell become intertwined as they navigate coming of age in a world choked by war, civil strife, drugs, and protest. But harrowing choices their parents have made in the name of ideology and self-preservation are about to complicate the course of their lives.

DESCENT FROM THE HILL portrays the wistful idealism of 1960s’ generation youth. Conspiracies and secret pacts that span continents and lifetimes—from Nazi Germany to Fascist Italy, Switzerland to South America, Vietnam to Berkeley and the Reagan-era United States—ultimately lead to revelations of personal betrayals and corruption at the highest levels of leadership.

Powerful, fascinating, and scholarly—a thought-provoking novel! The author has expertly weaved together several complex stories of disparate but warm human relationships that develop during the crescendo of an era plagued by world shaking chaos. Characters are so believable, so clearly developed, and their dialogue so realistic, that readers will imagine themselves in the room, listening in on thought provoking conversation. All this wrapped up in an exciting page turner that’s just fun to read.
—Carolyn and Jack Fleming, authors of THINKING PLACES: WHERE GREAT IDEAS WERE BORN

Weaving an intriguing web of conspiracy that springs from the voracious tentacles of “despots and god-brokers in collusion”, DESCENT FROM THE HILL takes a vivid look at the sinister wages of war, governmental deceit, and hidden agendas. It’s all here in this poignant tale of tyranny and betrayal.
—Antoinette Pannard, author of MEPHISTO ON WING

About the Author

JIM PICARDI was born in Brooklyn, New York, and attended Hamilton College, where he studied languages and literature. A retired physician, he lives in Colorado and is currently working on his second novel