Full blooded story of high adventure in emerald mining in the Colombian Andes -- a man's book primarily, with some unnecessary gruesome details, the whole record permeated with the colorful egotistical personality of the author. He is a mining engineer who developes an old lost Spanish mine. The story reads like fiction, and starts when the author climbs on mule back into the ""cold hell"" of Chivor where the mine is located. He convinced the scaptical owners that it was worth the gamble. He lorded it over half-wild natives and by sheer bluff kept them on the job. He brought his wife and children to his mountain top home. Fast dangerous living, recurrent setbacks, hair-raising adventure, in a spirited narrative by a man who delights in it all. Escape reading.