William Gurstelle

William Gurstelle (born March 29, 1956) is an American nonfiction author, magazine writer, and inventor. He is a feature columnist for ''Make'' magazine and a columnist and contributing editor at ''Popular Science'' magazine. Previously, he was the Pyrotechnics and Ballistics Editor at ''Popular Mechanics'' magazine.

He is also the author of several science “how-to” books published by Crown Books/Random House and Chicago Review Press.

His best known work is ''Backyard Ballistics,'' which according to ''Newsweek'' magazine, has sold hundreds of thousands of copies. Other popular titles are ''Absinthe and Flamethrowers'', and ''The Art of the Catapult''. In 2011, ''Publishers Weekly'' stated Gurstelle had sold more than 300,000 of his books.

According to James A. Buczynski in ''Library Journal'', Gurstelle's writing "balances scientific explanations of the technologies with profiles of the people who [explore] them." Provided by Wikipedia