Absinthe & Flamethrowers: Projects and Ruminations on the Art of Living Dangerously (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If you can imagine Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes all grown up, this supercharged guide for amateur thrill seekers would probably replace Hobbes as his constant companion. Ostensibly in order to encourage the notion that, "to a point, the ability to wage risk is a useful and worthwhile attribute," professional engineer Gurstelle (The Art of the Catapult) lays out detailed instructions for making "black powder" (gunpowder), rockets, flamethrowers and other devices that will endanger your digits and eyebrows. To the author's credit, he is equally detailed in his prescriptions of safety gear and precautions. He also details more hedonistic thrills, such as absinthe, cigarette smoking and "thrill eating" à la the Travel Channel's Andrew Zimmern— "in small amounts," he says, "they add bite and depth to the flavor of life." Most of the recipes and blueprints that Gurstelle shares with fellow "Big-T" (thrill-seeking) personalities, can be found all over the Internet, but this antidote to the usual cautious self-help guides is written well if occasionally in overheated prose, and, more important, is presented responsibly. Illus. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"If you ever wondered what happened to MacGyver, he lives in Minneapolis under the name of Bill Gurstelle."  —Lee Zlotoff, creator, MacGyver

"If you can imagine Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes all grown up, this supercharged guide for amateur thrill-seekers would probably replace Hobbes as his constant companion."  —Publishers Weekly

"When it comes to the theory and practice of making your own noisy, mildly dangerous fun in the backyard, America has a new poet laureate. His name is William Gurstelle."  —New York Times

"The book is a sure-fire hit for people who want to get in touch with their inner MacGyver (to borrow a chapter title from the book) and for fans of television shows like MythBusters, which often involves building things that shoot or explode."  —Booklist Online

"Scintillating."  —MAKE Magazine Blog

"Learning to engage in acceptable levels of risk will result in sharpended critical thinking skills and an inner strength you didn't know you had. Just don't crack your new bullwhip indoors."  —Twin Cities Metro

"Guys who consider "MythBusters" to be appointment TV might warm to this oddball piece of nonfiction, which aims to put a smile on science, if a rather mischievous one."  —The Oklahoma Gazette

"Learning to engage in acceptable levels of risk will result in sharpended critical thinking skills and an inner strength you didn't know you had. Just don't crack your new bullwhip indoors."  —Geek Monthly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press (June 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556528221
• ISBN-13: 978-1556528224
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,328 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dangerous book for Men, June 3, 2009

By	Will Kalif "StormTheCastle" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is kind of a The Dangerous Book for Boys but for men. It covers a variety of subjects like eating dangerously, making a flame thrower and making gunpowder or your own Absinthe. There is some interesting stuff in it and an important thing to realize about this book is in the title "Projects and Ruminations" It isn't just projects it also talks about various pursuits that are a bit dangerous like eating dangerously or the hottest pepper in the world.
Plenty of safety warnings and a real focus of the book is on the science/art of doing things in a way that makes dangerous less risky.

This book is definitely not for boys, grownups only.
What I like most about the book is the variety of resources it gives you on where to get supplies for your projects. And these suppliers and sources vary widely. The author calls this the art of Obtanium.

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars too much gunpowder, not enough Absinthe or Flamethrower, June 13, 2009

By	Justin E. Jacobson "silent_bombadil" (Fort Walton Beach, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

With a title like "Absinthe and Flamethrowers: Projects and Ruminations on The Art of Living Dangerously," I expected a wider variety of different projects, stunts, and useful information. The Bulk of the book, however, has nothing to do with Absinthe or Flamethrowers, and is devoted largely to making small batches of gunpowder and using it in various ways.

I don't have anything against making or using gunpowder specifically, but with so much space devoted to the chemistry-intensive gunpowder projects, all the other interesting topics like absinthe, zippo tricks, bartitsu, knife-throwing, and bullwhips get significantly less attention.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read, excellent projects!, June 3, 2009

By	N. B. Pettis "Bre Pettis" (Brooklyn NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Bill Gurstelle is a great maker who takes on ambitious projects and then shares them. This book follows in his great tradition of awesome books that combine great projects with storytelling. Besides being a book that gives you a roadmap for making life more interesting, it's got great projects and Bill's storytelling ability makes it a great read. Even if you want to live the dangerous life from an armchair perspective, you'll love this book! I give this book 5 stars for sheer entertainment value and for inspiring me to live life closer to the edge!