|
There are many
great fireworks books and videos out there, which contain a wide
variety of information.
BOOKS
(general fireworks info)
Fireworks
for Everyone! By Bob
Weaver.
Published in 1995, this is a Consumer Reports-like buyers
guide to more than 1000 consumer fireworks. All items are rated
according to quality, and it describes the colors, sounds, and
special effects you'll get from each device. With this book,
you'll never waste your money on crappy fireworks again. Available
here.
Fireworks
A-Z Buyers Guide By Bob
Weaver.
An 2002 updated version of Bob's 1995 book. No pictures, but a
huge list of fireworks reviews, including each devices performance,
duration, manufacturer, and item number.
Fireworks: A
History and Celebration. By George Plimpton.
Fireworks Tonight! By Martha Brenner
Firecrackers - The Art and History.
By Warren Dotz, Jack Mingo and George Moyer
A firecracker pack and label collectors dream. Here is everything you
need to know about firecracker history, label design, and how to rate
a grade collector quality firecracker pack labels. A big 10"
X10" table book. 124 pages. 241 full color pictures.
Available from AFN.
(description from American Fireworks News website)
2005
North American Fireworks Trade Directory
The
bible of the fireworks trade. Lists all known US fireworks
manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers, supplies
vendors, consultants, clubs, and special effects suppliers. Contains
companies, contact names, addresses, phones, and locations, cross
referenced by state. 200+ pages, spiral bound. (description
from Skylighter website) Available from Skylighter.
BOOKS
(scientific and how-to)
Introductory
Practical Pyrotechnics.
By Tom Perigrin.
A great book to start with if you have never built fireworks before.
It teachers the beginner all about the world of fireworks making, and
includes a wide variety of projects that get more advanced as they
progress. Learn to make black powder, black match, quick match,
fountains, lances, stars, mines, shells, and helicopters.
Available from Skylighter.
Chemistry
of Pyrotechnics. By John Conkling
One of the top modern book that gives you the basic principles
and theory. Learn the chemical theories underlying pyrotechnic
mixtures and explosives. It reviews chemical principles, offers
practical solutions to research problems; It’s an ideal learning
aid and hands-on reference. By the former Executive Director of the
American Pyrotechnics Assn.. Available from AFN.
(description from American Fireworks News website)
Fireworks
Principles and Practice, 3rd Edition. By Rev. Ronald
Lancaster
An interesting book that covers the history of fireworks,
fireworks legislation, fireworks materials/chemicals, general
pyrotechnic principles, mixing and charging, how different types of
fireworks work, effects, and a glossary. Also includes a 63-
page chapter by Takeo Shimizu on fireworks manufacture. 448
pages, 300 definitions in the glossary, 170 pictures and
illustrations. Available from AFN.
Technique
in Fire, Volume 8, Ignition: Materials, Problems, and Solutions.
By Bill Ofca.
A great book that contains lots of information about fuse and
fireworks ignition. Learn about quick match, green powder,
igniter cord, visco fuse, time delay fuse, pass fire, buckets,
lift/burst powder, and blind stars, matching gerbes and lancework,
priming, and cross matching.
VIDEOS
"PYROvideo"
by Bob Weaver
The famous consumer fireworks reviewer and general pyro nut Bob
Weaver continues where he left off in 1995 with his book Fireworks
for Everyone. Each of these four videos reviews dozens
of new consumer fireworks and informational segments. The first
issue takes you on a trip with Bob to the Brothers Pyrotechnics plant
in China, where you learn how consumer fireworks are built. The
second issue shows to how prepare fireworks for your show. The
third and fourth ones contain "how to" projects",
footage of other peoples' consumer firework display setups, in
addition to dozens of firework clips. Check out his
site for more information. These are videos that no
pyro should be without.
"NOVA: KABOOM!"
Follow an explosive trail through the ages, starting in
ninth-century China, where alchemists stir up a concoction meant to
provide eternal life. Instead, the strange mix blows up in their
faces - and the first pyrotechnics are born. Intrigued by the
magical formula, Roger Bacon makes a bigger bang by confining the
black powder inside a tube. "When the flame of powder catcheth
the soul of man." notes the medieval friar, "it burneth
exceeding deep." The way is now paved for high explosives, and
nineteenth-century industrialist Alfred Nobel - know variously as the
'merchant of death' and the founder of the Nobel Pease Prize - in
turn pushes nitroglycerin to its dynamite potential. Carrying
on this legacy, physicist Robert Oppenheimer will unleash the
terrible beauty of the atomic bomb, ironically hoping its awesome
power might render war obsolete. What will be our next experiment in
search of the ultimate explosion? (description taken from
back of video box)
Available from AFN.
"NOVA:
FIREWORKS!"
"Join NOVA and travel to Italy, England, and Pennsylvania to
discover the chemical secrets that put the bang in the rocket and the
fizz in the Roman candle. Meet the Zambelli family, the "First
family of fireworks," and see the spectacular results of secrets
passed down through generations. Watch master pyrotechnicians show
how intricate fireworks display are created. Discover how elaborate
computer controls turn a celebration at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers
Stadium into amazing split-second science. And enjoy some of the
world's most astounding public fireworks displays, including the
record-setting millennial celebration at the Eiffel Tower."
(description taken from back of video box)
Available from AFN.
Publications
to AVOID
Unfortunately, there
are several books and computer files in existence that contain
extremely dangerous information on bomb making on chemical mixing
written by moronic James Bond wannabes who have no idea what the hell
they're doing. Following any of the pyrotechnic instructions in
these could result in serious injury or death. For example,
these "books" contain recipes that involve mixing chlorate
(ClO3) compounds with sulfur compounds, which can result
in a spontaneous fire or explosion. Once again, NEVER do
anything described in these publications.
-The Big Book of
Mischief
-The Anarchist's Cookbook
-The Jolly Roger's Cookbook
-The Poor Man's James Bond
|
