In Four Miles West of Nowhere, John Phillips delivers a Pythonesque travelog of his retirement journey from Ann Arbor, Michigan, to remote Darby, Montana, (population 745, no Starbucks, no traffic light). There, along the Continental Divide, Mother Nature sets out gasp-inducing scenery and also her best birds, bears, and brook trout. To this fauna-rich utopia Phillips adds broken snow plows, a reclusive ex-smuggler, threatening winters, electricity famines, and heartfelt ruminations about fly fishing, guns, survival, Darby's dress code (pre-owned grubby), forest fires, irritating neighbors, helpful neighbors, a voluptuous barber, Republicans (he found one good one), septic tanks, alcohol, and pre-existing conditions. 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. He could make you laugh at your own bankruptcy. He made me laugh out loud at his falls into the icy Bitterroot while learning to fly fish. And also at his descriptions of hospitalizations, truck wrecks, tire chains, and acquiring his first Carhartt bib overalls. Phillips has crafted a swift, seamless diary of life at J & J Cat Ranch, the mountaintop home he shares with wife Julie-a willing co-conspirator in all this. The diary's eighty-seven episodes recounting John and Julie's first year as "feeders" (Darbarians 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 editor-in-chief and publisher of Car and Driver and author of The Road to Pickletown

Formato	Tapa suave
Número de Páginas	404
Lenguaje	Inglés
Editorial	Pronghorn Press
Fecha de Publicación	2021-10-20
Dimensiones	9.0" x 6.0" x 0.83" pulgadas
Letra Grande	No
Con Ilustraciones	No

Phillips, John

John Phillips has written for magazines for 45 years and is the former Executive Editor of Car and Driver. He has contributed to Harper's, the Toronto Globe & Mail, Elle, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Condé Nast Traveler, Smithsonian Air & Space, and Sports Illustrated. He was the recipient of the Ken Purdy Award for journalism in 2007; enjoyed a one-on-one interview with Joe Biden; and is the author of the novel Slippery as well as the true-crime saga God Wants You to Roll. He lives with wife, Julie Gothrup, in Montana's Bitterroot Mountains.