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Graham Mackintosh
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Into a Desert Place: A 3000 Mile Walk around the Coast of Baja California Paperback – April 17, 1995

by Graham MacKintosh (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 197 ratings
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"I had never been particularly good at anything except catering to my own comfort and safety," begins Graham Mackintosh with cheerful frankness in this engaging, suspenseful, and finally stirring travel adventure.

An Englishman, Mackintosh fell in love with Baja California on a visit and, despite a glaring shortage of both experience and money, determined to walk its entire coast. Into a Desert Place is his account of how he equipped himself, what he saw and learned, and how he survived on this harsh and beautiful journey. The book was first published in England and then by Mackintosh himself in the United States; this is its first appearance in paperback.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  4. Publication date
    April 17, 1995
  5. Dimensions
    6.1 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0393312895
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0393312898
  8. See all details
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Amazon First Reads | Editors' picks at exclusive prices

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Englishman Graham Mackintosh seems an unlikely candidate to walk the 3,000-mile coast of Baja, California--after all, he calls himself "the most unadventurous person in the world." Yet Mackintosh spent 500 days in that loneliest of deserts, carrying his world on his back, dining on rattlesnake and cactus, drinking distilled seawater, and living with fear as a constant companion. So, just what was this "most unadventurous" man doing in a place like Baja? In Into A Desert Place, Mackintosh blames books for his transformation from armchair traveler to hardened adventurer. A taste for adventure travel literature soon developed into an addiction; when the library shelves had surrendered the last of their treasures, he went into a kind of withdrawal: "It got so bad that I even thought of doing something adventurous and crazy myself.... " Walking around Baja was not Mackintosh's first choice--he considered getting married--but a trip to visit friends in Los Angeles led him to the little Mexican village of Ensenada, which had been prominently featured in one of those adventure travel tales he'd read in England.

Like Tolkein's Bilbo Baggins, running down the road toward adventure without a hat or coat, Mackintosh set off to Baja without a tent or sleeping bag, hitchhiking his way around the peninsula until his money ran out. By that time, he'd fallen deeply in love with the harsh environment and was determined to come back and explore it more thoroughly. Into a Desert Place is his account of what he saw and learned on that second trip, and how he survived.

Review

"Could well become an enduring classic. . . . Always vastly entertaining, this is one of the finest pieces of travel writing to appear in years and certainly one of the best books on Baja ever published. Don't miss this title; it's that good."
― Coast Book Review Service

"What has resulted from [Graham Mackintosh's] unsuspected determination and stamina is a truly uplifting account of what one person alone against the world can accomplish. It is also one of the finest pieces of travel writing of recent times."
― Irish Independent

"[A] 'can't-wait-to-turn-the-page' story."
― San Diego Log

"An engagingly humorous and ultimately inspiring chronicle of high adventure."
― Stockton Record

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company (April 17, 1995)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393312895
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393312898
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.01 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 197 ratings

About the author

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Graham Mackintosh

Graham Mackintosh

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Graham Mackintosh was born in London in 1951 of a Scottish father (Inverness)and an Irish mother (Kilrush, Co. Clare), he grew up in Slough, Berkshire, and received a BA Hons degree in Sociology from the University of Leeds.

In 1983 he was a lecturer at a college in England teaching social sciences and special education to unemployed teenagers. Hoping to show his students that a shoestring expedition could be the adventure of a lifetime, Mackintosh, who described himself as the "least adventurous person in the world," set out to walk around the beautiful but dangerous coastline of Mexico's Baja California peninsula.

The near two-year, 3,000-mile trip changed his life. When Mackintosh emerged from the cactus-strewn wilderness, he returned to England to write Into a Desert Place and there received the prestigious "Adventurous Traveller of the Year" award.

After years promoting Into a Desert Place in the UK, the US and Baja California, in 1997 Graham Mackintosh elected to walk down the rugged, mountainous interior of Baja, visiting many of the old mission sites along the way. Journey with a Baja Burro, his second book, was the result. It describes his arduous thousand-mile journey with a pack burro from the US border to Loreto - a trip that began exactly 300 years after the October 1697 founding of the Loreto mission, the first permanent European settlement in the "Californias".

In the summer of 2001, he camped for four months in Baja's highest mountain range, the Sierra San Pedro Mártir with two street dogs, Penny and Pedro, and that became the subject of his third book - Nearer My Dog to Thee.

His fourth book, Marooned With Very Little Beer, appeared in April 2008, and tells of his two months kayaking and hiking the second largest island in the Sea of Cortez - Isla Angel de la Guarda.

In 2020, he published six photographic Kindle books. Paddy's Huggy Adventures... and Paddy's Further Adventures... and Kayaking to La Paz, stages 1-4.

He has so far published in 2021 - Paddy and Lavender's Christmas Adventures... and Guardian Angel Island.

Graham Mackintosh now lives in San Diego, California and Baja California. He continues to give lectures and slide shows on his adventures, writes articles on Baja and has guided tourists south of the border on various trips.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
197 global ratings
Into and out of trouble in Baja.
5 Stars
Into and out of trouble in Baja.
Traveling in Baja is like going back in time. It shows us California before civilization. Driving the length of the peninsula is adventurous, but walking the distances that Graham walked is “ muy loco”. His stories of his encounters with locals, tourists and wildlife are enlightening and entertaining. If you’re a Baja enthusiast you will love this book.
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Top reviews from the United States

John
5.0 out of 5 stars book is great… such an interesting and great adventure. READ IT.
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2023
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This book is a great book for anyone that loves nature, adventure, wild life, the outdoors… it’s very suspenseful… well written… it’s just amazing what he went through …incredible…
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Adore Yourself
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great book! You live the adventure with him
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2020
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I picked up this book at the library in Santa Barbara, CA and loved it so much I bought a copy for my library. I spent a lot of time in Baja, below San Felipe, past Punta Estrella, in the middle of nowhere. We had no electricity, no running water, 5-8 kids in tow, and a trailer on a cement slab there with no one around for many miles. There were no paved streets in San Felipe then. We also used to go to the Rosarito Beach Hotel on the Pacific side all through the 1960's when it was quite elegant. Reading this book, I remembered all the animals, birds, plants, the way the Gulf behaves, and learned so much! It was great he is not a sports buff, survivalist, etc. And being a fellow redhead, I too was in extreme sun with fair skin out there, quite a challenge! I lived this book. The author did a great job taking the audience along for the ride.
One person found this helpful
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nat nguyen
4.0 out of 5 stars one man's hike around baja
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2019
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Found this book in a free library in Baja, had to buy a copy. Baja is a place that true adventurers find never disappoints. I love the entire peninsula, and each new place is more beautiful than the next. When I found this book, it spoke directly to that spirit. There are a few passages that I found presumptive, mildly offensive, and dated (in particular stating "facts" about the lifestyles of the native peoples of baja and other cultures) but on the whole this is an engrossing adventure story that still holds up.
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Dave
5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read for any Baja Lover
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2021
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"I regret not reading this 30 years ago!" Was my first thought as I started this awesome adventure. I've heard so much of Graham through the years, about his books and travels. I always thought to myself, why would I need to read about someone else's adventures in Baja when I am enjoying my own!?? Baja has been a part of my life since I was just born. My parents loved Baja and would spend all their free time in the 60s and 70s exploring, looking for untouched beaches and desert. My first road trip to Baja Sur was when I was 2 years old and I kept going every year (sometimes more) for the rest of my life. Even to a seasoned traveler, this book was hard to put down. The writing style is wonderful, he is funny, I felt like I made a new friend. His descriptions of the land and the love of the people are spot on. The story even 35 years later is still inspiring.
3 people found this helpful
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Paul T Moyes
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2023
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Really enjoyed reading this book as we drove down to the tip of Baja. The author described the scenery perfectly and kept me excited to hear about what was around the next corner of his adventurer.
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Robert R. Briggs
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful, entertaing account of unusual travel.
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2001
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This story is so wonderfully refreshing when compared to the many stories of adventure travel on the market today. If you like the unusual in travel, then this will be a fun book as the author takes you along on his 3,000 mile trek around Baha California relating the story in his own, uncomplicated style. You'll feel just like you are walking beside him, as he encounters, rattlesnakes, scorpions, cactus thorns, thirst, hunger and lonliness. You'll rejoice with him as he comes upon the many small fishing camps along the way and meets wonderful, friendly local fisherman who share their meager food and water with him so he can continue onward. The highlight of travel is often those you meet along the way and this story is no exception. For a first-time author, he does an exceptional job in relating this story in a simple, understandable way, just as if he was talking with you personally. It's truly remarkable that a person with no previous hiking or trekking experience could pull of such a feat. His determination and upbeat attitude pushed him to the conclusion of his quest. If you like travel and adventure, this is a good one.
6 people found this helpful
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Amaramar
4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging read
Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2022
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Great book. We’ll written in an engaging style.
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Jmoss
5.0 out of 5 stars Authentic Adventure at its best
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2012
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A TOP RATING from me. I have met and spoken with Graham Mackintosh at one of his slide shows. He is qualified to write this work because:
- He had never done anything like this before
- He was not a hiker and has red hair and fair-skin (bad in Baja)
- He had no money
- He did not know Spanish (bad news when in Baja)
- He had more enthusiasm than good sense
- He is an excellent writer

Interested already? You should be. Graham hiked thousands of miles around Lower California alone with almost no resources. He did take pictures and kept a careful diary: thus the book.

I will not tell you about the hoard of blue crabs (in the initial stage of his journey) and how he almost died at their hands (claws?). You will have to read the book.

A bonus is that Graham gives us his thoughts and emotions during the journey, as well as the unique people, sights and scenes he encountered. His reactions and how he handles them powerfully convey the loneliness and starkness of the Baja setting. It is a landscape all its own, truly larger than life as we may know it.

I don't recommend readily - this book I HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

J. Sheedy
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this book about a very special place
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 4, 2019
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I've read this three times now and it is such a great description of the magic of the Baja peninsular, a place in Mexico that is changing so quickly due to an influx of development, that sadly much of this wild nature will already be gone much too soon. A classic tale of adventure by a red headed white men beating the odds of surviving and even thriving in the desert. I would hope that everyone who has ever been to Baja, or is thinking of going there, would enjoy reading this.
One person found this helpful
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Wade
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating book.
Reviewed in Canada on February 11, 2013
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I really was drawn into this book, and enjoyed the whole process the author followed as he trekked around the Baja. He was a bit crazy-a real risk taker, and a little too smug about his views on life and interacting with th local, but the book is still a fabulous, quick read.
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Tatiana U.
5.0 out of 5 stars Gutsy adventurer
Reviewed in Canada on October 20, 2019
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Surprisingly brilliant read. A page turner.
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MovingStuff
5.0 out of 5 stars A journey of exploration
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 18, 2017
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An unlikely adventurer is seized by the idea of an impossible walk through desert and mountains. He does it and lives, having learned to survive hardship and danger, and to accept the kindness of strangers, with humility and gratitude. As well as the bushcraft, Mackintosh learns to trust and accept the gifts and provisions that come to him, just as he needs them, like a biblical wanderer in the desert.
A moving story of faith and fortitude, and stubbornness.
2 people found this helpful
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Kenton Lane Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book and swift delivery
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 17, 2018
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Great book!
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