Kevin Galvin’s new book, *Troubled Times: The Boston Courthouse Bombing of 1976*, revisits a pivotal yet often overlooked episode of political violence in Boston’s history. The April 22, 1976, bombing at the Suffolk County Courthouse caused injuries to more than 20 people but no fatalities. The blast was carried out by a radical leftist group during a period of significant unrest across the United States, particularly in Boston.

Galvin, who grew up in the Boston suburbs and was only 10 years old at the time, recalls the bombing as something he only vaguely remembered from childhood. In his book, he reflects on the contrast between his youthful patriotic impressions of America’s Bicentennial celebrations and the violent upheaval taking place around him. “I had a Cub scout’s appreciation of what was good and true about the United States,” he writes, underscoring how the bombing disrupted those ideals.

The book offers a detailed account of the attack’s impact on individual victims, focusing especially on Ed Narine, a working-class immigrant from Trinidad who was badly injured in the blast. Narine was at the courthouse to renew his cab driver’s license while supporting himself through further education. Galvin highlights how Narine, “the last person that your leftist radical revolutionary would want to hurt,” became an unintended casualty in a violent struggle he did not partake in.

Galvin also explores the motivations and backgrounds of the perpetrators. Among them was Raymond Luc Levasseur, a French Canadian from Maine and a suspected conspirator in the bombing. Levasseur became radicalized through his disillusionment with the Vietnam War and subsequent experiences with the criminal justice system. Galvin uses Levasseur’s story to probe the complex pathways that lead individuals to engage in political violence.

Drawing on his experience as a former foreign correspondent and deputy national editor at the Boston Globe, Galvin aimed to provide a nuanced perspective on the personal and societal consequences of such acts. He urges readers to consider not just who labeled “terrorists” are, but also the social and political conditions that drive people toward violence.

The book’s epigraph, a quote from President John F. Kennedy—“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable”—frames Galvin’s reflection on the ongoing tensions between activism and violence. Galvin will present his book at a reading scheduled for Oct. 8 at Harvard Book Store. Through this work, he hopes to encourage a deeper understanding of a troubled moment in Boston’s past and its relevance to contemporary political conflicts.