The Best Kind of American: A True Story of Murder, War, and America's Undoing in the Middle East

 

The Best Kind of American: A True Story of 

Murder, War, and America's Undoing in the 

Middle East

By Kim Ghattas

Genre: Nonfiction / History / True Crime / Geopolitics
Publication Year: 2026
My Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)

How Does One Murder Echo Across Four Decades?

Some true-crime books focus on solving a crime.

The best ones reveal the world that made the crime possible.

In The Best Kind of American, Kim Ghattas takes readers back to a single morning in Beirut in 1984, when Malcolm Kerr, president of the American University of Beirut, was assassinated outside his office. What begins as a murder investigation gradually expands into something much larger: a sweeping examination of war, ideology, foreign policy, and the origins of conflicts that continue to shape the Middle East today.

At its core, this is a book about unanswered questions.

Who killed Malcolm Kerr?

Why was he targeted?

And how did one murder become entwined with the rise of forces that still dominate regional politics decades later?

Ghattas understands that history is rarely a collection of isolated events.

More often, it is a chain reaction.

One decision leading to another.

One conflict feeding the next.

One tragedy reverberating through generations.

A Family's Search for the Truth

The emotional center of the book is the Kerr family itself.

Malcolm Kerr was not merely a public figure caught in geopolitical turmoil. He was a husband, a father, a scholar, and a man deeply connected to the Middle East. When he was murdered amid Lebanon's civil war, answers proved elusive.

There was no meaningful investigation.

No satisfying resolution.

Only grief.

Decades later, the loss continues to shape his family, including his son Steve Kerr, who would eventually become one of the most recognizable figures in professional basketball.

What makes the narrative so compelling is the way Ghattas balances intimacy with scale.

The Kerr family's tragedy never becomes overshadowed by geopolitical analysis.

Nor does the larger history fade into the background.

The murder provides the mystery.

The history provides the explanation.

The family provides the heart.

A Public Health Perspective: The Long-Term Consequences of Conflict

From a public health perspective, The Best Kind of American is a powerful reminder that conflict extends far beyond battlefields.

Modern public health research consistently demonstrates that wars affect populations for generations. Political violence influences physical safety, mental health, education, economic opportunity, displacement, and trust in institutions.

Ghattas repeatedly illustrates these realities.

The Lebanese Civil War did not simply destroy infrastructure.

It disrupted lives.

Families.

Communities.

Entire generations.

The book also highlights how violence often becomes self-perpetuating. Grievances accumulate, institutions weaken, and unresolved conflicts create conditions in which future instability thrives.

As someone with a public health background, I appreciated Ghattas's recognition that geopolitical decisions are ultimately human decisions with human consequences. The individuals caught within these systems often bear costs far exceeding what headlines can convey.

History here is not abstract.

It is personal.

Looking Through an Analytic Lens

What impressed me most about The Best Kind of American is its ability to connect a single crime to broader historical developments without losing narrative momentum.

Ghattas argues that 1980s Beirut represents a critical turning point in modern Middle Eastern history. The Iranian Revolution, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the emergence of Hezbollah, shifting U.S. policies, and regional power struggles all converge during this period.

The result is not merely a retrospective history.

It is an origin story.

Many of the personalities, ideologies, and conflicts dominating headlines today emerge from the events Ghattas examines.

Particularly impressive is her ability to weave together investigative reporting, historical scholarship, and narrative storytelling. The book reads at times like a political thriller, yet remains grounded in rigorous historical analysis.

Few nonfiction writers manage that balance so successfully.

The storytelling keeps readers engaged.

The research gives the work its authority.

Reading This Book as an American

Some histories explain what happened.

Others explain why it still matters.

The Best Kind of American belongs firmly in the second category.

As an American reader, I found myself repeatedly reflecting on how foreign policy decisions often feel distant when they occur, only to reveal their significance years or decades later.

The book raises difficult questions.

What responsibilities accompany global power?

How well do Americans understand the consequences of their government's actions abroad?

How many contemporary crises have roots in events most people barely remember?

These questions are particularly relevant because Ghattas refuses to simplify them.

There are no easy villains.

No easy heroes.

Only people making decisions within extraordinarily complicated circumstances.

That complexity is one of the book's greatest strengths.

Strengths and Limitations

The book's greatest strength is its synthesis of personal and political history.

Ghattas never loses sight of the human story at the center of the narrative, even while navigating decades of geopolitical developments.

The research is equally impressive. The book demonstrates a deep understanding of Middle Eastern politics while remaining accessible to readers without specialized knowledge of the region.

The true-crime framework also works remarkably well. The unresolved assassination provides narrative momentum that helps readers engage with complex historical material.

At nearly five hundred pages, the scope is considerable. Readers seeking a quick introduction to Middle Eastern history may occasionally find the level of detail demanding.

For me, however, the depth was essential.

Simplifying these events would have diminished their significance.

Final Thoughts

The Best Kind of American is a brilliant work of narrative nonfiction that combines true crime, memoir, political history, and investigative reporting into a deeply compelling examination of the modern Middle East.

Kim Ghattas has crafted a book that honors the personal tragedy of the Kerr family while illuminating the broader historical forces that continue shaping international politics. Through her investigation into one unsolved murder, she reveals the interconnected nature of conflict, ideology, and power across four decades.

Readers interested in history, international affairs, true crime, journalism, and Middle Eastern politics will find much to admire here. Book clubs will also discover extensive material for discussion about war, memory, justice, and America's role in the world.

What lingered with me after finishing was not simply the question of who killed Malcolm Kerr.

It was the realization that some crimes become windows into entire eras.

A single act of violence.

A single unanswered question.

A single family searching for truth.

And through that search, a much larger story comes into focus.

The Best Kind of American reminds us that history is never really past.

It lives on in the people who survived it.

And in the consequences we are still living with today.

Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)