Amey, Ralph. Wines of Baja California: Touring and Tasting Mexico’s Undiscovered Treasures. South San Francisco: The Wine Appreciation Guild, 2003. For those who plan to explore the Valle de Guadalupe, this small book gives a good overview of the wineries, with some history, as well as background on grapes and vintages.

Berger, Bruce. Almost an Island: Travels in Baja California. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1998. Berger, a pianist, poet, desert aficionado, and keen observer of human behavior, surveys Baja’s social landscape, with a special focus on La Paz.

Burleson, Bob, and David H. Riskind. Backcountry Mexico: A Traveler’s Guide and Phrase Book. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1986. Part guidebook, part anthropological study covering Northern Mexico, with some relevance to Baja California backcountry travel.

Cudahy, John. Mañanaland: Adventuring with Camera and Rifle Through California in Mexico. New York: Duffie and Co., 1928. This hard-to-find text provides an interesting glimpse of pre–World War II Baja, but no outstanding revelations. Out of print.

Mackintosh, Graham. Into a Desert Place. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1994. A thoroughly engaging report of Mackintosh’s walk around the entire coastline of Baja California during the course of two years. A classic of gringo-in-Baja travel literature for its refreshingly honest style and insights into Baja fish-camp and village life.

Mayo, C. M. Miraculous Air: Journey of a Thousand Miles through Baja California, the Other Mexico. University of Utah Press, 2002. Poignant, contemporary memoir by a fiction writer, Spanish/English translator, and editor, who lives in Mexico City.

Miller, Max. Land Where Time Stands Still. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Co., 1943. A classic travelogue that chronicles Baja life during World War II, when Mexicans alternately fell prey to German and American propaganda. Out of print.

Salvadori, Clement. Motorcycle Journeys Through California and Baja, 2nd Ed. North Conway, NH: Whitehorse Press, 2007. Having written more than 1,000 articles for dozens of motorcycle magazines in his 30-year career, this author does an admirable job of digesting the peninsula for other motorcyclists who might want to tackle the Holy Grail of North American road trips. Contains lots of invaluable tips.

Steinbeck, John. The Log from the Sea of Cortez. New York: Penguin USA, Viking, 1951. This chronicle of the author’s Baja research voyage with marine biologist Ed Ricketts (the inspiration for Cannery Row protagonist “Doc”) reveals Steinbeck as a bit of a scientist himself. Annotated with Latin, the book is full of insights into Pacific and Sea of Cortez marinelife as well as coastal bajacaliforniano society. Sprinkled throughout are expositions of Steinbeck’s personal philosophy, implicit in his novels but fully articulated here. Also reveals the source for his novella The Pearl.