The Combat Zone, Jan Brogan
The Combat Zone, Jan Brogan
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The Combat Zone
Murder, Race, and Boston's Struggle for Justice

Author: Jan Brogan

Narrator: Donna Postel

Unabridged: 8 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 06/30/2022

Synopsis

At the end of the 1976 football season, more than forty Harvard athletes went to Boston's Combat Zone to celebrate. In the city's adult entertainment district, drugs and prostitution ran rampant, violent crime was commonplace, and corrupt police turned the other way. At the end of the night, Italian American star athlete Andy Puopolo, raised in the city's North End, was murdered in a stabbing. Three African American men were accused of the crime. His murder made national news and led to the eventual demise of the city's red-light district.

Starting with this brutal murder, The Combat Zone tells the story of the Puopolo family's struggle with both a devastating loss and a criminal justice system that produced two trials with opposing verdicts, all within the context of a racially divided Boston. Brogan traces the contentious relationship between Boston's segregated neighborhoods during the busing crisis; shines a light on a court system that allowed lawyers to strike potential jurors based purely on their racial or ethnic identity; and lays bare the deep-seated corruption within the police department and throughout the Combat Zone. What emerges is a fascinating snapshot of the city at a transitional moment in its recent past.

About Jan Brogan

Jan Brogan is a journalist and novelist living in Boston. A former staff writer for the Providence Journal and the Worcester Telegram, her freelance work has appeared in the Boston Globe, Boston magazine, Ladies' Home Journal, and Forbes.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kristina

The Combat Zone: Murder, Race, and Boston’s Struggle for Justice is an incredible read, through which I learned about the 1976 murder of Harvard football player, Andy Puopolo and the tumultuous court cases that followed. The author presents this fascinating, yet tragic story from the perspective of......more

Goodreads review by Bob

The book was an excellent read and brought back many memories of what Boston was like back in the 70’s (and before). The Afterward perfectly summarized the essence of Boston during that era and how much the City has progressed to where we are today. The memory of the Ted Landsmark incident is still......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer

The conclusion of this book is basically….”Yeah Boston is racist but it used to be much worse” Aside from that which I felt left the book off on a sore note for me it was interesting to read about the development of the Chinatown/Downtown Crossing area and a 1970s murder case that affected the way t......more

Goodreads review by Chris

This book felt like uncovering a trove of secrets hidden in the attic. I'm so thankful for everything it taught me about parts of Boston that I've passed through obliviously for so many years. A must-read for any Bostonian, and a compelling history of a crime and prosecution that says so much about......more

Goodreads review by Zeb

At the end of Harvard football's 1976 season, most of the team went to drink in the Combat Zone (CZ) after the official party. At this time the CZ was at it's height of infamy, the small four block area was the home to x-rated bookstores, strip joints and bars, many acting as brothels. The denizens......more

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