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William Edmundson examines the spectacular life story of ´Colonel´ John Thomas North, also known as ´The Nitrate King,´ a mechanic in Leeds who became one of the best-known and richest men of his time. Forgotten in Britain and vilified in Chile and Peru, this is the first biography of a controversial but compelling figure.

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Prologue: He would be called quiet We had adventures of all sorts I was better acquainted than any other foreigner Don Juan Tomás North The Nitrate King The Grand Promotion Army Colonel North The sensation of the hour A visit to the Nitrate Kingdom A millionaire stripped bare Epilogue: I have enjoyed myself thoroughly Appendix: The North family tree

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´This is a splendid story of a man with great charm, who was an adventurer, buccaneer and speculator and who, in a short and eventful life, rose from a very modest beginning to acquire both fame and fortune This book will make good reading for those interested in a comprehensive story of the nitrate industry´. Viscount Montgomery. Chilean News

´This welcome, well-researched and very readable biography gives a full account of his life and provides a reappraisal of his activities, both in Chile where he made his fortune, and back in Britain where his gifts for self-promotion and his lavish life-style made him a byword This is an enjoyable and full account of Colonel North´s life and dealings, academic in detail and soundly researched and referenced, but written in an easy, lively style.´ Eveleigh Bradford. The Thoresby Society, Leeds

"Well-written . . . and contributes new information about North´s life and the relation of that life to the economic development of Chile." - Michael Monteón, Professor of History, University of California, San Diego

"A revealing, entertaining, and long-needed biography of one of the nineteenth-century´s most flamboyant and controversial international capitalists - ´Colonel´ John Thomas North. Edmundson adeptly exploits previously unknown archival materials, the contemporary press, and a vast academic literature on the nitrate industry and Chilean politics to bring the ´Colonel´ back to life in all his complexity." - Brian Loveman, Professor of Political Science, Emeritus, San Diego State University

"The author´s research, conscientiously carried out in English archives, and the collaboration of experts in information and of libraries, not only proves the seriousness of Edmundson´s work, but also the tireless idea of unraveling the life and actions of North in Chile and in other countries where he made investments."´El regresso de John Thomas North,´ Diario 21, Iquique, Chile. May 2, 2011 (trans.), Dr. Pedro Bravo-Elizondo (Ret.), Professor of Latin American Literature, Wichita State University.

´Edmundson´s lively style, the many illustrations and some entertaining anecdotes make for a good read.´ - Journal of Latin American Studies

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