Unavailable
Unavailable
Unavailable
Ebook626 pages10 hours
Growing Up Bin Laden: Osama's Wife and Son Take Us Inside their Secret World
By Jean Sasson, Najwa Bin Laden and Omar Bin Laden
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
()
Unavailable in your country
Unavailable in your country
About this ebook
As the western world’s most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden has fought to keep his personal life a mystery – loyalty and fear keeping those who know him from speaking out – until now.
For the first time, two of Osama’s closest family members, his first wife Najwa and their fourth son Omar, go behind the headlines to reveal the truth about the character and life of a man feared and revered around the globe.
In gripping detail, they recount the drama, tensions, and everyday activities of the man they knew as a husband and father. Married at fifteen, Najwa describes the transformation of the quiet, serious young man she fell in love with into an authoritarian husband and stern father, an entrepreneur, and – finally – the leader of a complex international terrorist network. Uprooted from a life of extraordinary luxury and privilege in Saudi Arabia, they suddenly found themselves living life on the run, fleeing from country to country under assumed names and fake passports. Omar describes how he and his siblings were brought up in remote ranches and fortified Afghani mountain camps, handling Kalashnikovs and learning desert survival skills. Their eventual escape from Afghanistan would come just days before the terrible events of 9/11 changed the world forever.
With unprecedented access and exclusive family photographs, Jean Sasson, author of the bestselling Princess, presents the story that we were never meant to hear.
For the first time, two of Osama’s closest family members, his first wife Najwa and their fourth son Omar, go behind the headlines to reveal the truth about the character and life of a man feared and revered around the globe.
In gripping detail, they recount the drama, tensions, and everyday activities of the man they knew as a husband and father. Married at fifteen, Najwa describes the transformation of the quiet, serious young man she fell in love with into an authoritarian husband and stern father, an entrepreneur, and – finally – the leader of a complex international terrorist network. Uprooted from a life of extraordinary luxury and privilege in Saudi Arabia, they suddenly found themselves living life on the run, fleeing from country to country under assumed names and fake passports. Omar describes how he and his siblings were brought up in remote ranches and fortified Afghani mountain camps, handling Kalashnikovs and learning desert survival skills. Their eventual escape from Afghanistan would come just days before the terrible events of 9/11 changed the world forever.
With unprecedented access and exclusive family photographs, Jean Sasson, author of the bestselling Princess, presents the story that we were never meant to hear.
Unavailable
Read more from Jean Sasson
Growing Up bin Laden: Osama's Wife and Son Take Us Inside Their Secret World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love in a Torn Land: Joanna of Kurdistan: The True Story of a Freedom Fighter's Escape from Iraqi Vengeance Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Related to Growing Up Bin Laden
Related ebooks
The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Skin of a Jihadist: A Young Journalist Enters the ISIS Recruitment Network Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An American Bride in Kabul: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Behind Palace Walls: In the service of a Saudi princess Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Disenchanted: One Woman's Journey for Independence from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Behind the Burqa: Our Life in Afghanistan and How We Escaped to Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5We Are Afghan Women: Voices of Hope Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Guarding bin Laden: My Life in Al-Qaeda Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Secrets Behind the Burqa Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Zoya's Story: An Afghan Woman's Struggle for Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Children of Dust: A Memoir of Pakistan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lifting the Veil of Secrets in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Escape! from an Arab Marriage: Horror Stories of Flight from Abusive Muslim Husbands Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Saudi Bodyguard Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Escape From Dubai Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mutawas: Saudi Arabia's Dreaded Religious Police Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unveiled: How an American Woman Found Her Way Through Politics, Love, and Obedience in the Middle East Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Private Family Matter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Invisible Martyrs: Inside the Secret World of Female Islamic Radicals Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Inside Al-Qaeda and the Taliban: Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda's Leader Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5From MTV to Mecca Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror (Updated Edition) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kill Khalid: The Failed Mossad Assassination of Khalid Mishal and the Rise of Hamas Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Behind the Kingdom's Veil: Inside the New Saudi Arabia Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Trapped in Iran: A Mother's Desperate Journey to Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stoning of Soraya M.: A Story of Injustice in Iran Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Saved by Her Enemy: An Iraqi woman's journey from the heart of war to the heartland of America Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Politics For You
The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Palestine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Republic by Plato Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Capitalism and Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How the President Uses Mind Control Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daily Stoic: A Daily Journal On Meditation, Stoicism, Wisdom and Philosophy to Improve Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fear: Trump in the White House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Reset: And the War for the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on the U.S.-Israeli War on the Palestinians Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Get Trump: The Threat to Civil Liberties, Due Process, and Our Constitutional Rule of Law Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 1]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Quest for Cosmic Justice Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The U.S. Constitution with The Declaration of Independence and The Articles of Confederation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Humanity Archive: Recovering the Soul of Black History from a Whitewashed American Myth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Speechless: Controlling Words, Controlling Minds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ever Wonder Why?: and Other Controversial Essays Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Letter to Liberals: Censorship and COVID: An Attack on Science and American Ideals Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Reviews for Growing Up Bin Laden
Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
5 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5"Life WAS more agreeable when my father was far, far away", 10 January 2016This review is from: Growing Up Bin Laden (Paperback)Ghost written by Jean Sasson, the insider information about Osama's real character and family life comes from his first wife, Najwa, and fourth son, Omar.Najwa recalls her teenage marriage, her husband's promises to protect her like a prized pearl ...which all seems so tragic as the bright, normal Syrian girl has to take the veil and unquestioningly accept her husband's decisions, whether it's to take more wives or to forbid the family to use the air-conditioning and fridge (as all modern inventions are 'un-Islamic': strangely that doesn't include the fast cars that Osama so likes.Meanwhile Omar recalls life as one of a huge family (his mother alone had eleven children), his father's unbending sternness and devotion to jihad - even asking his sons to volunteer as suicide bombers. And as Osama's antics cause countries to 'evict' him, the family moved from the comfort of Saudi Arabia to Sudan to the bleak, freezing Tora Bora Mountains of Afghanistan....Very interesting read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I really liked the segments by Najwa, Osama's first wife. She really gives us a great picture of who Osama was as a man and as a husband, that really challenges the stereotypes we are bombarded with by politicians and the corporate media. By and large, he seems to have cared a lot about her and treated her as well as he could, or well as he could under the circumstances he generated. She is a woman who still clearly loves her husband and despite everything remains loyal to his memory. There are times when she seems cognizant that something is wrong, as when she discusses the loneliness she felt when Osama took his second wife, but found comfort in the patriarchal dogma of her religion. She is a sensitive and loving woman, and a smart woman, albeit a smart woman whose dedication to her husband and her children overrode any concern for her own welfare.Omar's accounts are also interesting. Although his father treated his wife and daughters well, he was much harsher in raising his sons. In a large way, Osama saw his sons as the Islamic soldiers of the future, and raised him towards this purpose. A sensitive boy, Omar would not be molded the way his father wanted, and craved for his love. I can understand why he broke from his father, and I can understand and respect why he has striven for peace, particularly in light of his life situation, but I don't necessarily understand why the book tries to construct him as brave. It could be said that he was brave in standing up to his father the way he did, but I don't see that it was particularly brave to flee his family in Afghanistan to live the life of luxury and privilege that he was accustomed to as a child. He was also far less than brave or else extremely naïve to deny that Saudi Arabia was behind the assassination attempt against his father when they were living in Sudan. Presumably, Omar recognized that he would wear out his welcome in Saudi Arabia were he to make the obvious conclusions about the actions of the Saudi royals. All of this said, Osama's son seems to be a good man with a troubled past, trying to find his way forward. His relationship with his father provides the reader with a helpful and interesting alternative to Najwa's more intimate perspective.Jean Sasson's commentary is rather irritating for the most part. Her purpose in this book seems simply to be to reconcile these first person accounts humanizing Osama with the xenophobic accounts of the corporate media portraying him as an inhuman monster. Although it is true that she provides some context in certain parts of the book where it is helpful, on the whole I am mostly grateful that she wrote as little in the book as she did. Her closing section is particularly annoying, being in total context to much of the rest of the book. But on the whole I am glad that she has put this book together for publication. It is probably the most honest biography available on Osama bin Laden.