  Absolute {\it K}-shell photoionization cross sections for atomic nitrogen
have been obtained from both experiment and state-of-the-art theoretical
techniques. Due to the difficulty of creating a target of neutral atomic
nitrogen, no high-resolution {\it K}-edge spectroscopy measurements have been
reported for this important atom. Interplay between theory and experiment
enabled identification and characterization of the strong $1s$ $\rightarrow$
$np$ resonance features throughout the threshold region. An experimental value
of 409.64 $\pm$ 0.02 eV was determined for the {\it K}-shell binding energy.
