Fireworks

If you're looking forward to a great multisensory 4th of July, you may want to check out some of the fireworks from our collection:

In his book, Fireworks: A History and Celebration, the great participatory journalist George Plimpton delved into fireworks around the world, including famous aficionados and displays of the time.  The book is now more than 25 years old, but covers the subject with fascinating detail, many photographs and illustrations, and a glossary of fireworks terms for true enthusiasts.

Two novels in which fireworks figure prominently are Book of Fires by Jane Borodale (2010) and Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffrey Stepakoff (2010).  Borodale's story is set in England in the 1750s where a poor pregnant 17-year-old girl flees her rural home for London and becomes apprenticed to a recently widowed fireworks maker.  Fireworks Over Toccoa is a story of forbidden love set in Georgia in the summer of 1945.  A recently married young woman whose husband has gone off to World War II falls in love with a handsome Italian immigrant in town to set up the the 4th of July fireworks display.  It is a passionate, nostalgic read that should appeal to Bridges of Madison County fans and Nicholas Sparks readers.

The DVD Fireworks, part of the History Channel's Modern Marvels series, shows fireworks manufacturing in different world locations, goes to Spain to show the use of holograms with pyrotechnics, and looks at Disney World's remote-controlled, missile-launched displays.  George Plimpton and the Grucci family, who in 1979 became the first American family to win the Gold Medal at the Monte Carlo International Fireworks Competition, serve as hosts.

And finally, some rousing music to accompany fireworks:  Music for Wind Band (John Philip Sousa), Stars & Stripes (Canadian Brass), Ultimate Russian Classics (The 1812 Overture), and The Very Best of Handel (Music for the Royal Fireworks selections).

Happy 4th of July!