Killer Colt: Murder, Disgrace, and the Making of an American Legend

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Synopsis
An in-the-room account of John Colt&’s scandalous nineteenth-century murder trial from &“America&’s principal chronicler of its greatest psychopathic killers&” (Boston Review). In this masterful account, renowned true-crime historian Harold Schechter takes you into the life and crimes of convicted murderer John Caldwell Colt, drawing parallels between John&’s rise to notoriety and his brother Samuel Colt&’s rise to fame as the inventor of the legendary revolver. With a killing that made headlines around the nation, John Colt became a cultural touchstone whose shocking villainy inspired and provoked such writers as Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, and Herman Melville. Unlike his brother, John lived a nomadic existence, bouncing from one job to another. His one distinction, writing a reference accounting book, would play a part in his fall from grace. For in New York City, on September 17, 1841, John murdered printer Samuel Adams with a hatchet during a heated argument over proceeds from book sales. A media circus ensued, galvanizing the penny press, which printed lurid headlines and gruesome woodcut illustrations. The standing-room-only trial created unforgettable moments in legal history, including such dramatic evidence as Samuel Adams&’s decomposed head. The verdict and its aftermath would reverberate throughout the country and beyond, giving John Colt lasting infamy. &“[Schechter] leads us through Colt&’s trial with such precision that you can smell the cigar smoke in the courtroom. . . . Killer Colt succeeds in making us care about this story now by showing why it mattered to so many people then.&” —HistoryNet
Copyright:
2010

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
Book Size:
280 Pages
ISBN-13:
9781504094269
Related ISBNs:
9781504094276
Publisher:
Open Road Media
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Harold Schechter
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
History, Nonfiction, Biographies and Memoirs
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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