Synopses & Reviews
The New York Times calls GROWING UP BIN LADEN: "The most complete account available of the terrorists immediate family." (May 15, 2011) A true story that few ever believed would come to light, GROWING UP BIN LADEN uncovers startling revelations and hidden secrets carefully guarded by the most wanted terrorist of our lifetime, Osama bin Laden.
"I was not always the wife of Osama bin Laden. Once I was an innocent child dreaming little girl dreams…"
Thus begins this powerful story as Najwa bin Laden, who married her cousin Osama bin Laden at the age of 15 to become his first wife and the mother to eleven of his children, and her son, Omar bin Laden, the fourth-born son of Osama bin Laden. Together, mother and son tell an extraordinarily powerful story of a man hated by so many, yet both loved and feared by his family, with spine-tingling details about the life and times of the man they knew as a husband and father, including:
- Osamas disapproval of modern conveniences, including electricity and medicine
- His plan to toughen up his sons by taking them into the desert without food or water
- Transporting his wives and children to the rough terrain of Sudan, where he claimed to be preparing them for attacks from western powers, commanding them to dig holes, and to sleep in those holes, allowing nothing more than sand and twigs for cover
- Omars horror at the rape and murder of a boy his own age, by members of a jihadist group living among them in the Sudan.
- What happened in the bin Laden home in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on the morning of September 11, 2001, and Omars surprise phone call with his mother, who escaped from Afghanistan only two days before the shattering events that killed so many innocent people
Since September 11, 2001, journalists have struggled to uncover carefully guarded information about Osamas private life. Until now, Osama Bin Ladens family members have not cooperated with any writers or journalists. Now, with unprecedented access and insight, Jean Sasson, author of the bestselling Princess: A True Story Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia, takes us inside the secret world of Osama bin Laden.
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
“I was not always the wife of Osama bin Laden. Once I was an innocent child dreaming little girl dreams...” Thus begins this powerful story as mother and son give us an extra ordinary viewcomplete with exclusive family photographsof the private life of a man both loved and feared by his family: Osamas disapproval of modern conveniences, including elec tricity and medicine; Osama toughening up his sons by taking them into the desert without food or water; Osama moving his wives and children from a orderly life to one of extreme uncertainty. In 1996, Osama chose the 15-year-old Omar to accompany him to the mountain fortress of Tora Bora, where the risks of hunger and disease soon paled before the dangers of the terrorist camps. With unprecedented access and insight, bestselling author Jean Sasson takes us inside the secret world of Osama bin Laden.
Synopsis
A powerful story that gives readers an extra ordinary view of life as a bin Laden.
Synopsis
Osama bin Laden's wife and son offer a powerful, extraordinary view of life as a bin Laden.
Synopsis
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.
Synopsis
The New York Times calls GROWING UP BIN LADEN: "The most complete account available of the terrorists immediate family." (May 15, 2011) A true story that few ever believed would come to light, GROWING UP BIN LADEN uncovers startling revelations and hidden secrets carefully guarded by the most wanted terrorist of our lifetime, Osama bin Laden.
"I was not always the wife of Osama bin Laden. Once I was an innocent child dreaming little girl dreams…"
Thus begins this powerful story as Najwa bin Laden, who married her cousin Osama bin Laden at the age of 15 to become his first wife and the mother to eleven of his children, and her son, Omar bin Laden, the fourth-born son of Osama bin Laden. Together, mother and son tell an extraordinarily powerful story of a man hated by so many, yet both loved and feared by his family, with spine-tingling details about the life and times of the man they knew as a husband and father, including:
- Osamas disapproval of modern conveniences, including electricity and medicine
- His plan to toughen up his sons by taking them into the desert without food or water
- Transporting his wives and children to the rough terrain of Sudan, where he claimed to be preparing them for attacks from western powers, commanding them to dig holes, and to sleep in those holes, allowing nothing more than sand and twigs for cover
- Omars horror at the rape and murder of a boy his own age, by members of a jihadist group living among them in the Sudan.
- What happened in the bin Laden home in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on the morning of September 11, 2001, and Omars surprise phone call with his mother, who escaped from Afghanistan only two days before the shattering events that killed so many innocent people
Since September 11, 2001, journalists have struggled to uncover carefully guarded information about Osamas private life. Until now, Osama Bin Ladens family members have not cooperated with any writers or journalists. Now, with unprecedented access and insight, Jean Sasson, author of the bestselling Princess: A True Story Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia, takes us inside the secret world of Osama bin Laden.
About the Author
JEAN SASSON, a New York Times bestselling author, lived in the Middle East for 12 years and has traveled extensively in the area for 30 years. She lives in the Southern USA.
NAJWA BIN LADEN, who married her cousin Osama bin Laden at the age of 15, is his first wife and the mother to seven of his sons and four of his daughters. She currently lives with three of her eleven children in the Middle East.
OMAR BIN LADEN, the fourth son of Osama bin Laden, has publicly called for his father to "change his ways." Both Omar and his mother left Afghanistan before September 11, 2001, and neither has been in contact with Osama bin Laden since.