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William Gurstelle

William Gurstelle (born March 29, 1956) is an American academic, nonfiction author, magazine writer, and inventor. He has been part of the History of Technology, Science, and Medicine program at the University of Minnesota since 2019. He is a feature columnist for ''Make'' magazine, a columnist and contributing editor at ''Popular Science'' magazine, and an occasional book reviewer for the Wall Street Journal. 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."

William Gurstelle is now retired and lives with his wife Karen in a home in st. paul, Minnesota . Provided by Wikipedia