Stranger in a strange land is my favorite kind of read, because the writer notices things we overlook or just take for granted. Since there is no stranger writer than John Phillips or a place stranger than America, this book makes for an excellent ride. -Jay Leno, former host of The Tonight Show The leap John Phillips took at retirement was not for the faint of heart. But Four Miles attests to the great rewards available to late-in-life risk takers. Phillips' observations are the work of either a likeable man or a devious agent, and his Montana town is filled with interesting souls and the usual irate locals who he observes with affection and comic detachment. -Tom McGuane John Phillips has found bliss in the far, far away. But it's a funny kind of bliss. That is, John is hilarious about his tussles with Mother Nature.

And Mother Nature does hilarious things to John. You'll love his, book. But would you love being "four miles west of nowhere?"-P.J. O'Rourke Car and Driver readers have known for years that John Phillips is a National Treasure. The immense wit and vigorous powers of observation that made him such a popular magazine writer are on full display in his retirement odyssey. -Eddie Alterman, former Editor In Chief of Car and Driver You will be reminded of Mark Twain with a dash of curmudgeonly Mencken thrown in. City man, plus saintly wife, moves to remote Montana wilderness.

Lives to tell about it in charming turn of good humor and self-awareness.-David Abrahamson, Professor Emeritus, The Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern Four Miles is a hoot, a sideways Tilbury Town of Montana's prickly and particular, the ungoverned and ungovernable, the misanthropes and.well, it's mostly misanthropes, but John's writing makes you love them anyway. -Dan Neil, Pulitzer Prize winner, The Wall Street Journal. If he wasn't a friend of mine, I probably wouldn't be as envious of John as I am because of his scythe-like wit, his wicked sense of humor, ability to entertain, and flat-out smarts. But he is, so I am. -Steve March Tormé, recording artist (and son of Mel) John Phillips can find trouble in any situation. So when he moved to the wilderness, mayhem was sure to follow, which John relates with his usual twisted hilarity.

You will laugh out loud.-Csaba Csere, former Editor of Car and Driver In Four Miles West of Nowhere, Phillips delivers a Pythonesque travelog of his retirement from Ann Arbor, Michigan, to remote Darby, Montana, (population 475, no Starbucks, no traffic light). There, along the Continental Divide, Mother Nature sets a fauna-rich utopia. Phillips adds heartfelt ruminations about fly fishing, guns, Darby's dress code (pre-owned grubby), irritating neighbors, helpful neighbors, a voluptuous barber, septic tanks, and alcohol. He occasionally claims to dislike his fellow persons, but then delights everyone with eyes and a sense of humor by presenting writing that entertains, informs, and confronts. His wicked wit addresses both human frailties and environmental missteps, but through it all Phillips is wildly funny. Phillips has crafted a swift, seamless diary of life at the Double-J Cat Ranch, the mountaintop home, he shares with wife Julie-a willing co-conspirator. The diary's eighty-some episodes recounting John and Julie's first year as "feeders" (Darbrarians who do not hunt) never make you feel voyeuristic.

Not once. Hell, to invade their privacy you'd have to stop laughing.-William Jeanes, former Publisher of Road & Track and author of The Road to Pickletown.