W H Russell was a prolific writer of books on the American Civil War, the Crimean War & India but this book based on his visit to Chile is 'scarce'. It gives remarkable insights into this part of South America which only produced a limited social & economic assessments & literature outside the Spanish-speaking world. There are currently no original copies of this title available on the net. For readers with an interest in transport there are details of railways & illustrations that served the nitrate fields.