Fireworks : A History and Celebration

by George Plimpton

Traces the history of fireworks, looks at top firms, record-setting displays, and fireworks organizations, and describes the dangers of working with fireworks

Genres: History, Nonfiction

286 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

George Ames Plimpton was an American journalist, writer, editor, actor, and gamesman. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review.

He was the grandson of George A. Plimpton.

Reviews

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fireworks by George Plimpton (Doubleday 1984)(662.1). Plimpton, the eternal dilettante, apprenticed with an extended family of pyrotechnic exhibitionists. He had a great time making things explode. He took us along for the fun, and it was a hoot! My rating: 7/10, finished 2002.

[Tamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

BOOM. CRASH. AHH. WOW.

It must've been great to be George Ames Plimpton and I think this even more so after reading his ode to fireworks.

[wyclif · Rating 4 out of 5]

George Plimpton in "Fireworks" argues that pyrotechnics are one of the few art forms designed purely for the immediate "arrest of attention." It's a visual performance that leaves no physical trace behind, existing only in the collective gasp of a crowd:

"The firework is the most transient of arts. It has no permanent canvas, no lasting stone. It is born, it flourishes, and it dies in a matter of seconds, leaving behind only the ghost of an image on the retina and a faint smell of sulfur in the air."

Plimpton notes that true blue-collar pyrotechnicians rarely use the word "fireworks" when they are working. They call them "the goods," "the stuff," or simply "shells."