Dr Jonathan S. Swift comes from Bowness-on-Windermere, in the UK's Lake District, and was educated at Heversham Grammar School, near Kendal. He lived for some time near Rome, Italy, after which he spent a year in Bogotá, Colombia, where he attended the Universidad Javeriana. After studying for a BA in Latin American Studies at Portsmouth, and spending a year in Mexico (in Xalapa, Veracruz), he began an academic career as a teacher of Spanish and French, in Bury, Lancashire. Whist teaching he studied part time at the University of Liverpool, where he was awarded an MA in Latin American Studies. He then went on to study at the University of Manchester (UMIST) , as part of a ESRC - sponsored course following which he was awarded an MSc programme MSc in Marketing. He secured a teaching post at Staffordshire University (Stoke-on-Trent) , where he taught a variety of postgraduate programmes, and ran a very successful research programme which matched students with UK companies that were looking to increase business abroad. While he was at Staffordshire, he completed a PhD (in Linguistics) at the University of Liverpool, and taught part time on a number of Masters level programmes and at the Manchester Business School and the University, where he was also involved in socio-linguistic pre-departure training for personnel from major UK companies going to Latin America to take up positions there.

Following this, he moved to Salford University, and his final position on retirement was Senior Lecturer in International Business. He also ran the MSc in International Business programme, and put in place a number of residential study tours in Spain, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Jonathan has written numerous books and academic articles, and since retirement, has been able to focus on his love of military history and politics. He has just completed a book examining the war in 1879, in which Peru and Bolivia fought Chile: The South American Pacific War: Nationalism, Nitrates, Gunboats and Guano and about the Spanish Blue Division: The Spanish Blue Division: Franco Confronts Communism in Russia (both of which should be published in 2027. Jonathan has a number of hobbies/interests, including history (especially military history), politics, international relations, fell-walking, chess, fishing, dogs, and listening to music - he is a great Beatles fan, and loves most music from the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s. Living in Latin America gave him a love of Latin American (especially Mexican) music, in addition to the music of Spain. He has travelled widely throughout most of Europe and Latin America, and has visited China on a number of occasions. He is married, has three children, and currently lives in Lancashire with his wife and a border collie.