With starred reviews from Kirkus, Library Journal, and Booklist, Kim Ghattas’ latest book of nonfiction The Best Kind of American: A True Story of Murder, War, and America’s Undoing in the Middle East (Henry Holt and Co.) is on sale October 13, 2026 in the US and October 22nd in the UK with Bloomsbury. Dutch, Korean, Italian and Polish editions to come in 2027.
About the Book
On January 18, 1984, Malcolm Kerr, president of the American University of Beirut, was assassinated by a pair of gunmen outside his office. His murder, in the wake of the bombing of the US Marines’ barracks, Palestinian guerrilla warfare, and the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, was just one more shocking headline in a city ravaged by the chaos of nine years of war. There was no investigation. Four decades later, the question of who killed Malcolm, and why, is still not fully resolved.
In The Best Kind of American, Kim Ghattas embarks on a quest to shed new light on Kerr’s forgotten assassination, weaving together the family’s story with that of Lebanon’s warlords and peacemakers, Hezbollah hostage takers and Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and American presidents from Reagan to Trump. She also tells the definitive story of how Beirut came to be the point of origin for the policies and people who went on to shape the Middle East for decades, from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was then assassinated in a joint US-Israeli strike in the opening salvo of their 2026 war against the Islamic Republic. With the nuance, clarity, and storytelling that made Black Wave an era-defining work on the Middle East, Ghattas delivers a riveting, deeply human saga—a must-read for understanding why this conflict continues to shape today’s world.
Upcoming Events
The book tour kicks off in New York City with Richard Engel on October 13th and 92Y. Full schedule at kimghattas.com. Â
- Oct 13, 2026 (8:00 PM ET) — 92nd St. Y at Redeemer Presbyterian Church with Richard Engel (New York, NY)
- Oct 14, 2026 (12:30 PM ET) — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace with Karim Sadjadpour (Washington, D.C.)
- Oct 17, 2026 (3:00 PM ET) — Politics & Prose with Joby Warrick (Washington, D.C.)
- Oct 21, 2026 (4:30 PM ET) — Dartmouth College with Tarek el-Ariss (Hanover, NH)
- Nov 3, 2026 — The Frontline Club with Jeremy Bowen (London, UK)
- Nov 4, 2026 — Lala Books with Clarissa Ward (Camberwell, UK) — Sold Out
- Nov 5, 2026 — Intelligence Squared with Lyse Doucet (London, UK) — Sold Out
- Nov 8, 2026 (2:00 PM CT) — Magic City Books (Tulsa, OK)
- Nov 16, 2026 (12:00 PM PT) — UCLA International Institute with Ann Zwicker Kerr & Dalia Dassa Kaye (Los Angeles, CA)
- Nov 18, 2026 (6:30 PM ET) — CUNY Leon Levy Center for Biography with Kai Bird (New York, NY)
- Nov 19, 2026 — Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs (details forthcoming)
- Nov 20, 2026 (12:00 PM ET) — The Institute of Global Politics at Columbia SIPA (In person and virtual, details forthcoming)
Praise for the Book
“Damning history of American bumbling in the Middle East . . . [a] wide-ranging narrative . . . of great importance to anyone seeking a clear view of a bewildering geopolitical arena.” —Kirkus (*STARRED REVIEW*)
”Highly recommended. Ghattas’s forensic reconstruction of the origin of U.S.-Iran-Israel enmity details personalities, interactions, events, and decisions that carry forward to 2025, offering readers a nuanced and timely backstory of the 2026 war in Iran.” —Library Journal (*STARRED REVIEW*)
“Ghattas’ account will resonate today as Israel, Iran, and the United States raise their global hostilities even higher.” —Booklist (*STARRED REVIEW*)