Using a plethora of Colt family letters, trial transcripts, diaries, unpublished and

published documents, Phelps’s book about the Colt brothers will detail the tragic life and times,

rise and fall of the Colt family, while using Sam Colt’s climb to wealth, fame and power to tell

a broader story of the scandalous tabloid era of mid-19th century New York City, the idea that

Edgar Allan Poe based his story “The Oblong Box” on John Colt’s case, and the incredible story

of Colt Firearms, including the misfortune the business suffered.