Synopses & Reviews
From the
New York Times bestselling author of
Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi ArabiaIn their own words, Osama bin Ladens wife and son tell the astonishing story of the man they knew—or thought they knew—before September 11, 2001.
The world knows Osama bin Laden as the most wanted terrorist of our time. But people are not born terrorists, and bin Laden has carefully guarded the details of his private life—until now, when his first wife and fourth-born son break the silence to take us inside his strange and secret world. In spine-tingling detail, Jean Sasson tells their story of life with a man whose growing commitment to violent jihad led him to move his wives and children from an orderly life to one of extreme danger, even choosing the teenage Omar to accompany him to the mountain fortress of Tora Bora.
Review
“Fascinating. . . . Together, Najwa and Omar provide an intimate account of a family life that became steadily more dangerous and bizarre. . . . From affluence and comfort in Jeddah they were reduced to penury and privation in Afghanistan, all the wives and their many children living without electricity, running water, or even real beds, in forced pursuit of Osama’s jihadist dreams.” —The Washington Post
Review
"Apart from anything Bin Ladens wives may have to say that might be useful to intelligence officers..., there is also a powerful natural curiosity about the women and their children: What was it like to live with the founder of Al Qaeda, to call him husband or father? As with Hitler or Pol Pot, you want to understand whether his bizarre combination of grandiosity and viciousness carried over to domestic life — in Bin Ladens case, whether he perhaps was an eerily ordinary parent, complaining about what was for dinner, nagging the kids about their homework.... The most vivid look the American public has had at Bin Ladens family life is from a 2009 memoir by his son Omar bin Laden and Omars mother, Najwa bin Laden. They wrote 'Growing Up bin Laden' with the assistance of Jean Sasson, an American writer. The book includes what may be the most complete account available of the terrorists immediate family." --Scott Shane, The New York Times, May 15, 2011 “Fascinating. . . . Together, Najwa and Omar provide an intimate account of a family life that became steadily more dangerous and bizarre. . . . From affluence and comfort in Jeddah they were reduced to penury and privation in Afghanistan, all the wives and their many children living without electricity, running water, or even real beds, in forced pursuit of Osamas jihadist dreams.” —The Washington Post
Synopsis
From the "New York Times" bestselling author of "Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia
About the Author
Najwa bin Laden is Osama bin Ladens first wife and mother to eleven of his children. Omar bin Laden is Osama bin Ladens fourth-born son. Neither has been in contact with Osama bin Laden since leaving Afghanistan before September 11, 2001. The New York Times bestselling author Jean Sasson has lived and traveled extensively in the Middle East for the last thirty years and currently lives in Atlanta.