‘A Finger of Land’ by Earl Vincent de Berge is not just a memoir; it is instead a masterful retelling of a journey that unravels the depths of self-discovery and the intricate tapestry of human connection with nature and God.
WILMINGTON, NC, June 04, 2025 /24-7PressRelease/ — What was Baja like before the grueling Baja 1000 race?
Beyond the small border towns and a few coastal villages, days could pass with scarcely a sign of human activity. Maybe a small pioneer house for a goatherder family, or a distant windmill. “Roads” were mostly goat trails, precariously narrow and variously of deep sand or strewn with boulders, often bordered by a steep drop-off to open desert below. And the desert! Dense with an amazing variety of plants and animals, and most unexpected and impressive — profound and powerful SILENCE.
Sounds a lot like a paradise, does it not?
In the eyes of bestselling author Earl Vincent de Berge, it was. His journey through Baja resulted in ‘A Finger of Land on an Old Man’s Hand’, de Berge’s compelling coming of age story detailing his life-changing adventure through the Baja wilderness in the 1960’s. It is an exploration of growth, identity, and self-discovery that is both inspirational and transformative. It is a masterful blend of adventure, introspection, and cultural discovery.
‘A Finger of Land on an Old Man’s Hand, Adventures In Mexico’s Baja Wilderness’ is more than just another adventure story; it’s a meditation on resilience, friendship, and the inescapable pull of self-discovery. Each challenge, physical or emotional, becomes a steppingstone in the explorers’ evolution, perhaps reminding readers of their own capacity for growth. It offers a compelling testament to the human spirit’s capacity for transformation.
Lovers of the Baja region will find much to explore, as the Baja Peninsula serves as both a backdrop and a mirror. Readers are immersed with the four explorers in a transformative journey through Baja California in 1962 and 1964, inspired by ‘The Forgotten Peninsula’ by Joseph Wood Krutch.
Baja proved a formidable challenge to men and equipment within its mountainous, sometimes lush, sometimes barren, desert environments; spectacular geology and complex ecologies bracketed by oceans. They enjoyed encounters with wild animals; found bountiful places to hunt and fish; met frontier families of the kindest sort; experienced Pacific storms, and love in a frontier village; met gold prospectors, hermits and one-of-a-kind characters.
They also experienced dramatic incidents of both potential and very real danger – some due to the untamed environment, others thanks to thoughtless visitors or to shadowy villains.
Plant photography was among the author’s interests, only partially foiled by wind-blown sand fouling his camera lens. Photography enthusiasts will be thrilled to know the book offers a treasure trove of previously unreleased photographs of the area.
Most important, they learned about themselves and their relations with nature and religion — finding their own answers or clarifying what they hoped to better understand.
One reviewer called the book, “. . . a beautifully written, fabulous tale of an incredibly brave and daring journey.” ReaderViews, in their 5-star review said, “A Finger of Land on an Old Man’s Hand by Earl Vincent de Berge is the stark, witty, and profound memoir of four college students testing their limits on the Baja Peninsula in the summer of 1962. One could think of this as the classic literary assignment, ‘How I Spent My Summer Vacation.’ Only to do so would be to grossly underestimate this narrative.”
Earl’s adventures in Baja deepened his youthful fascination with the Sonoran Desert and its plants and animals, and inspired him to write a collection of charming stories for young readers. The main characters are Big Ears Jack – a huge magician jackrabbit – and other animals, birds and plants of the Sonoran Desert and its coastal regions. “Big Ears Jack and Friends,” received a 5-star review from Readers’ Favorite, and a best-seller rating on Amazon, where it is available in both print and e-book formats.
Earl also published three collections of his poems, “Allegro to Life,” “Swans to Carry Me,” and “Wind in the Elephant Tree,” which touch on nature, human nature, love, desert silence, and life in Guatemala.
All of de Berge’s books are available at Amazon and other online book retailers. More information, including an excerpt from the “Baja book” and a pdf of selected photos with insider details revealing Baja in the 1960s is available on his website, https://www.earldeberge.com.
About Earl Vincent de Berge:
Author Earl Vincent de Berge is an Arizona native, writer, photographer, and poet. With a master’s degree in political science from the University of Arizona, he founded Behavior Research Center, Inc., and created the respected and widely published Rocky Mountain Poll (RMP), of which he was Editor for 35 years. Earl’s photographs, logbooks, and essays reflecting on life experiences serve as foundations for his prose and poetry. He has recently published three collections of his poems, “Allegro to Life,” “Swans to Carry Me,” and “Wind in the Elephant Tree,” which touch on nature, human nature, love, desert silence, and life in Guatemala.
He has just published a delightful book of young reader stories in which the main characters are animals and birds of the Sonoran Desert and coastal regions of Baja, and is currently assembling “The Man Who Ate His Dreams,” a biography of a rags-to-riches businessman, artist, and poet.
Earl and his wife Suzanne split their time between Arizona and Guatemala where they founded the nonprofit Seeds for a Future to help impoverished rural women improve their families’ access to adequate food and nutrition.
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