Overview

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.

Full Product Details

Author:   Alastair Vere Nicoll ,  Bear Grylls
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   I.B. Tauris
Edition:   Rebrand to Tauris Parke on reprint
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 3.00cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.658kg
ISBN:  

9781848853065

ISBN 10:   1848853068
Pages:   272
Publication Date:   30 June 2010
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   In Print  
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Bear Grylls Introduction Chapter 1: Beginnings Chapter 2: Flaubert's Parrot Chapter 3: A New Life Chapter 4: Altered Reality Chapter 5: Constructing the Creature Chapter 6: There but still Nowhere Chapter 7: Family Matters Chapter 8: Fly on my Wind Chapter 9: A New Horizon Chapter 10: The Icefall Chapter 11: The Layer Cake Chapters 12: Down and Out Chapter 13: Silence Valley Chapter 14: The Sword of Damocles Chapter 15: Difficult Decisions Chapters 16: It's all in the Mind Chapter 17: Uncontactable Chapter 18: Divide and Rule Chapters 19: Heat Miser Chapter 20: Travelling without Moving Chapter 21: The South Pole Chapters 22: Leaving the End of the Earth Chapter 23: North Chapter 24: The Winds of Change Chapters 25: Touching the Void Chapter 26: Mutability Chapter 27: The Final Burst Chapter 28: An End and a Beginning Epilogue

Reviews

'A remarkable journey in the footsteps of Roald Amundsen, the first man to the South Pole. Riding the Ice Wind is a thoroughly engaging and personal story that makes the mental landscape of a polar expedition relevant to the myriad decisions and struggles we face in real life - and from which we often wish to escape.' - Sir Ranulph Fiennes; 'This is a heart-led account of one of the longest, hardest polar journeys of recent years. It is a testament that enduring hardship isn't about bravado but about a quiet, at times faltering, daily decision to endure.' - Bear Grylls, Born Survivor, Man vs. Wild; 'It's extremely heartening to discover, through a text that is beautifully and powerfully written, that a younger generation of adventurers has got what it takes - and more. They prove themselves worthy successors to their heroes, Amundsen, Shackleton and Scott.' - John Hare, author of The Lost Camels of Tartary; 'An original and compelling book that really gets into the psyche of adventure and the conflict between the call of responsibility and the desire for freedom. I thoroughly enjoyed it.' - Jonny Bealby, Wild Frontiers

Author Information

Alastair Vere Nicoll runs a renewable energy business and lives in London with his wife and two children. This is his first book.

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