Come with Me from Lebanon: An American Family Odyssey

by Ann Zwicker Kerr

Ann Kerr’s is a personal account of an American family during the most tumultuous years of Beirut’s political strife. It begins with the tragic assassination of her husband Malcolm Kerr, one of the most respected scholars of Middle East studies, in 1984, seventeen months after he became president of the American University of Beirut. She retraces in detail the events that brought them to the Middle East, and reaches back into her childhood to describe a lifelong affinity for Lebanon. For a young American woman caring for a family in Lebanon and Egypt, life was like nothing she had ever known, but Ann Kerr approached it with a sense of adventure, which would help her deal with the beauty, chaos, and the ultimate horror of life during the country’s most volatile years of the last three decades. The personal saga of her family and the events surrounding her husband’s untimely death merge with the political episodes that have shaped U.S.-Arab relations since World War II.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Middle East

344 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Ann Zwicker Kerr, coordinator of the Fullbright Program at the University of California at Los Angeles, serves as trustee of the American University of Beirut and escorts study tours to the Arab World for the National Council on US-Arab Relations.
Her late husband, Malcolm Kerr, was the president of the American University of Beirut and was assassinated in office in 1984.

Reviews

[Dolores]

Not long ago the Golden State Warriors won the NBA championship. I happened to read an article about coach Steve Kerr and his interesting background. That's when I discovered this personal account by his mother, Ann Zwicker Kerr. It tells the absorbing story of their family, culminating in the tumultuous years of political strife and the assassination of her husband, Malcolm Kerr, president of the American University of Beirut in 1984. It was very moving and well-written....I learned a lot about the Middle East.

[Bill Bookworm]

I read this because it was mentioned in a long article I was reading about Haley’s hero Steve Kerr, so I looked it up and it had great goodreads reviews. Ann has lived a very eventful life and is a good writer. It is funny to me that she describes Steve’s career in the exact same tone as for her other children. I read a SF Chron article about her the other day and she is still teaching Middle Eastern studies at UCLA at the age of 90! I got this book from the Mountain View Public Library via Link+ (power user, not to brag) and it is signed by the author

[Denise Underwood-Hannagan]

The tragedy this woman faced was horrific, yet she came through with dignity and grace. This memoir must’ve been a labor of love.

[Diane]

This book is now filled with my highlights of words and events and people to go research in more detail. Intertwining the Kerr family personal story into the history and politics of the Middle East was the best way for me to learn more about Lebanon and neighboring countries. A beautiful book and tragic story.

[Rhea Peters]

Such a nostalgic read from summers with family in Lebanon while we were growing up!

[Katherine Lavelle]

This book was excellent. Zwicker Kerr studied in Beirut in the 1950s and spent significant time living in Beirut and Cairo for 30 years. Her experiences living and working during a time of unrest are vivid and well written. She is also the mother of current NBA coach Steve Kerr, and his willingness to speak out on social issues make much more sense after reading this book by his remarkable mother.

[Ann Luce]

One of the most incredible books I’ve read in a long time! Ann Kerr is beyond eloquent, and her story is thoughtful and gripping. Her love for her husband and her family is moving and clear in every word she writes! Could not recommend this book more and the education about the Middle East it provided.

[Mathilde Fletcher]

One of the best autobiography I have ever read !
If you are interested by Lebanon, it’s a must read

[Lcitera]

Timely, fascinating.

[Molly Hickey]

Really beautiful memoir with great historical background

[Floatingleaf]

The story was fascinating and very imformative. The writing itself was flat. I recommend it to anyone interested in the middle east.