A Short History of Fireworks in America

A Short History of Fireworks in America is a 6,500-word essay that tells the intriguing story of how fireworks developed over the centuries to become an essential part of the Fourth of July. The piece takes you behind the scenes at a fireworks show and lets pyrotechnicians explain how they do their work. It looks at the origins of fireworks in China and Europe and at the loud and sometimes dangerous orgies of fireworks that punctuated the patriotic holiday during the early twentieth century.