Sam Hill always saw the world through different eyes. Born with red pupils, he was called "Devil Boy" or Sam "Hell" by his classmates; "God's will" is what his mother called his ocular albinism. Her words were of little comfort, but Sam persevered, buoyed by his mother's devout faith, his father's practical wisdom, and his two other misfit friends.

Standing but a stone's throw from the continent's western shoreline, Samuel Hill, a Quaker devoted to peace and a road builder rolling in wealth, addressed 4,000 celebrants gathered at the United States-Canada border on the Fourth of July, 1915. There, they celebrated a century of international peace and the opening of the Pacific Highway, now known simply as the I-5. As the ceremony closed, one member of the crowd stood and proposed construction of an international arch of peace at the site whereon they stood. Hill agreed and acted upon the proposal. Six years later, on September 6, 1921, Samuel Hill stood before a crowd estimated at 10,000 or more, and dedicated the International Peace Arch to the cause of world peace. War satisfies neither the victors nor the vanquished, he said, opening his dedicatory address. Perfect peace alone satisfies. For more than 80 years, the Peace Arch has stood between freeway lanes where millions of travelers, heading south into Washington state or north into British Columbia, have seen it as a symbol of peace. resident of Blaine, Washington, whose home is but one block from Peace Arch State Park, completed an exhaustive manuscript after fifteen years of research. The Peace Arch, standing on beautiful international parkland, has also been enshrouded with myths and mysteries that Clark has uncovered in the course of his research. Peace Arch devotees, long forgotten, have been restored to remembrances they have long deserved. Vital facts, long lost, have been recovered and given merited recognition. The Peace Arch has been the setting of devotion and demonstrations, queens and quarrels, marriages and marching bands. But in its history, so notably marked by variation ranging from violence to indifference, peace has remained its ongoing theme.

Former NYPD detective Sam Hill knows what happens when you cross the mob. He knows the risks, danger and thrill – and, most importantly, how to deal with the criminal underworld. So when he’s hired by the gorgeous widow of a murdered millionaire, he’ll have to play every angle to make sure he doesn’t end up at the bottom of the Hudson River.

How does history end? -- The Red Queen -- Will to power -- Economics outside the corridor -- Allegory of good government -- The European scissors -- Mandate of Heaven -- Broken Red Queen -- Devil in the details -- What's the matter with Ferguson? -- The paper leviathan -- Wahhab's children -- Red Queen out of control -- Into the corridor -- Living with the leviathan.

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR A WASHINGTON POST NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR ONE OF NPR'S BEST BOOKS OF 2020 LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST FOR THE 2020 CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE WINNER OF THE ROSENTHAL FAMILY FOUNDATION AWARD, FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND LETTERS A NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION "5 UNDER 35" HONOREE NATIONAL BESTSELLER “Belongs on a shelf all of its own.” —NPR “Outstanding.” —The Washington Post “Revolutionary . . . A visionary addition to American literature.” —Star Tribune An electric debut novel set against the twilight of the American gold rush, two siblings are on the run in an unforgiving landscape—trying not just to survive but to find a home. Ba dies in the night; Ma is already gone. Newly orphaned children of immigrants, Lucy and Sam are suddenly alone in a land that refutes their existence. Fleeing the threats of their western mining town, they set off to bury their father in the only way that will set them free from their past. Along the way, they encounter giant buffalo bones, tiger paw prints, and the specters of a ravaged landscape as well as family secrets, sibling rivalry, and glimpses of a different kind of future. Both epic and intimate, blending Chinese symbolism and reimagined history with fiercely original language and storytelling, How Much of These Hills Is Gold is a haunting adventure story, an unforgettable sibling story, and the announcement of a stunning new voice in literature. On a broad level, it explores race in an expanding country and the question of where immigrants are allowed to belong. But page by page, it’s about the memories that bind and divide families, and the yearning for home.

Hannah Arendt is one of the most renowned political thinkers of the twentieth century, and her work has never been more relevant than it is today. Born in Germany in 1906, Arendt published her first book at the age of twenty-three, before turning away from the world of academic philosophy to reckon with the rise of the Third Reich. After World War II, Arendt became one of the most prominent—and controversial—public intellectuals of her time, publishing influential works such as The Origins of Totalitarianism, The Human Condition, and Eichmann in Jerusalem. Samantha Rose Hill weaves together new biographical detail, archival documents, poems, and correspondence to reveal a woman whose passion for the life of the mind was nourished by her love of the world.