Excerpt: "Pyrotechny is possibly the only art which can compete with nature; anyone who has seen a first-class firework display will admit that for impressive grandeur, color effects, and contrasts of light and shade, pyrotechny is unapproached. That fireworks are popular there is no doubt; no form of amusement is capable of giving enjoyment to so many people at one time; there is no entertainment, which so appeals to youth and age of all classes...

When Chinese alchemists fashioned the first manmade explosion sometime during the tenth century, no one could have foreseen its full revolutionary potential. Invented to frighten evil spirits rather than fuel guns or bombs-neither of which had been thought of yet-their simple mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal went on to make the modern world possible. As word of its explosive properties spread from Asia to Europe, from pyrotechnics to battleships,...

Describes the preparation of fireworks as well as the festival honoring San Juan de Dios, the patron saint of Tultepec, Mexico, which is famous for its master pyrotechnics.

"From one of England's most accomplished young writers: a taut, riveting, compulsively readable novel in which a young man (with a bizarre sleep disorder) uncovers the connections between foxes behaving oddly in London, Burmese people going missing, and glow, the newest recreational drug. South London, May 2010: twenty-two-year-old Raf spends his days looking after Rose, a bull terrier who guards the transmitters for a pirate radio station, and his...

Make your own movie from start to finish with this entertaining, practical choose-your-path nonfiction guide to the world of filmmaking, from the critically acclaimed author of The Lady from the Black Lagoon.  Girls belong in the world of filmmaking. While we see them acting on-screen, there are also countless women working every single job possible behind the scenes as part of the film's crew. Are you a girl who is interested in film making? Do...