The author, Bandhu Dunham, has been a lampworker for over 40 years, and has taught lampwork technique all across the United States and internationally. His work is in the permanent collection of several museums, and he is the author of the how-to text, Contemporary Lampworking: A Practical Guide to Shaping Glass in the Flame. This three-volume text, now in its third edition, is universally regarded as an invaluable resource for both novices and veterans in the field. The book, Formed of Fire, is equally ambitious and definitive.