Book excerpt: Adrift in a life without risk or surprise and with a burning desire to make some sense of his place in the world, Alastair Vere Nicoll dived into the unknown. Leaving the security of friends, work and a wife, he joined a team of young men to harness the katabatic winds and haul and kite-surf across Antarctica: the coldest, windiest, most violent continent on earth. For Alastair, Antarctica was a land of legend and mystery, the ultimate test of strength, endurance and bravery; a place where he might feed his restlessness and find meaning in the emptiness. Not since Shackleton had nearly perished attempting the same thing in his Endurance expedition had such a crossing been attempted. This is the story of the first West to East traverse of the continent of Antarctica and of a race against time as Alastair fought to get home for the birth of his first child. Told with honesty and wisdom and adorned with some bewitching descriptions of Antarctica, "Riding the Ice Wind" is a compelling and subtly important book for our times.