Customer Reviews

Desert Royal

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Before I begin my review, I would like to say that the offer for Desert Royal with Princess Sultana's Circle is not good as they are the SAME book. The Desert Royal is the British edition of the book and the CIRCLE is the American edition. Reader's beware! Amazon: Please pay attention to such situations!

As far as the content of these books: I am a Muslim born in Lebanon but raised in America and I have traveled to the holy city of Mecca three times. I was pleased at the descriptions in this book of the pilgrimage. I disagree wholly with Mr. Jaeger from New York. (September 24.) He appears to be wrong in his judgement of the descriptions. I read the entire book very carefuly (three times, actually) and I could find no wrong doings in the descriptions of the cities or of the Ka'ba. I feel the gentlemen has been mislead by someone, as I have firsthand experiences in the Kingdom of Arabia.

I have noticed various other reviews that appear to attack without basis and I can only assume these are people who wish to discredit these valuable books for some reason or another. It is understandable that this happens for so many people in Saudi Arabia refuse to accept the fact they are backward in their treatment of women and so they react angrily when someone tells the truth.

While I am saddened at many of the descriptions, as a Muslim woman I will say that many of our men believe it is their right to beat a woman or mistreat her in other manners. For this reason, this is a good book to read. It is good that the Princess and the author are helping women in whatever way they can.

I saw how women in Saudi Arabia are treated, and the author has described these situations perfectly. Sadly, nothing seems to be changing in Saudi Arabia--the women are educated but they cannot use their brillant minds in a good way.

It is time for the Muslim world to discontinue mistreatment of females and move forward in a modern world. I say this as a Muslim woman who has lived a good life with a good family, but too many Muslim women do not have this opportunity.

For this reason I believe that every school in the world should have the books about a Princess in Saudi Arabia as required reading. Perhaps if the young are changed, the world can change.

I thank you for your time.

I wish to publicly thank Ms Sasson for including my little girl's story in the chapter entitled "Stolen Angels" in her newest book about "Princess Sultana." DESERT ROYAL depicts in painful detail the situation that my daughter and so many other little American children face after they are kidnapped and held hostage by their Saudi victimizers. My child has been away two long years, but there are others who have been held against their will for 20 years and more. Some of these American girls have grown up in Saudi Arabia, and even as adult women, are not allowed to obtain passports (either Saudi or American) so that they can visit their left-behind mothers in the United States or elsewhere. My daughter Heidi, who is a helpless 7-year-old now, has not been allowed to even call me, write to me, receive gifts from me or the rest of her family in over 2 years. Until recently, in fact, I have not even known if she was dead or alive. I am grateful to Jean for making this extreme form of child abuse against innocent children an issue. The world should not tolerate such uncivilized and savage behavior on the part of a nation that is a trading partner of the US. If the facts of Heidi's situation are appalling to the Western reader, the details of how a young Asian girl is bought as a sex slave by a young prince of the Al-Saud family are even more disturbing. Thank God that Princess Sultana and some of the other women of the family were able to help this child escape from the rapaciousness of the male child molesters. I thank God that there are Saudi women with the courage to stand up--at much risk to their own lives--and tell the world of the injustices perpetrated upon them by a corrupt system. I thank God that Jean Sasson--also at much personal risk-- is one American woman with the courage to bring this secret Saudi shame to the attention of the entire world.

I have all read of Jean's books in the Princess series, & this is one of my favorites. Actually, once I began reading them...that was it. I was hooked & couldn't put them down until I had completed reading the series. It's very obvious that the author is extremely knowledgeable about Saudi Arabia, & it's culture. The cruel, inhumane treatment of women was shocking & disgusting. I doubt if any women could read these stories & not realize that we are all one, & we must do whatever is necessary to help women everywhere who are living under such oppressive conditions.

As a youmg woman I worked in Saudi Arabia and can relate to many of the Princess stories. The treatment of women is truly shocking. A new book called "Single in Saudi" by Genia is a humorous account of a single American woman's experiences in this oppressive society. She dealt with the oppression as a liberated woman and got away with it.

I have read the first two books written by Jean Sasson to Desert Royal and found them totally facinating and thought provoking, I couldn't wait to read Desert Royal! I was not dissapointed at all, I loved reading about Princess Sultana and her fight against human rights abuses in her country against a rich backdrop of Arabic culture. I could not put the book down and finished reading it very quickly! I was saddened by many of the stories of abuse in the book and felt very much for the victims - usually women. However I am so happy that Princess Sultana has pledged to continue her fight against human rights abuses and I wish her every success. But more importantly, I feel that we should all do our bit to change this world into a better place for all. I eagly await the next book.

You also have to remember that this is a life story, I don't think when someone tells there life experience that it means that everyones life will be the same, just like we can't generalized everyone in a country or religion by only one experience.

Excellent piece of work. I enjoyed it almost as much as the first two and that is saying a lot.

Just wondered if Sultana's daughter Amani, was still a religious fanatic who was constantly inspecting the morals of her family and friends. If she was, maybe Sultana ought to have heeded the warning "be careful what you ask for, you may get it" and realize that she was better off when her daughter was still an animal fanatic, who bought caged birds for the sake of freeing them and who kept an informal "sanctuary for stray pets."

Most of us live our lives plodding along in our own self-indulgence, within our own microcosms, leaving little behind before moving on to another dimension. Few are able to help our society move on and develop; those are the individuals who have achieved greatness either during their lifetimes though the majority reach fame and bring on change after their deaths. Great individuals who have helped humanity develop for the better are usually greatly critised when their new ideas or opinions are expressed. The reaction from their peers varies from endorsement to repudiation. These few fortunate individuals are the ones who make a difference, who have taken us away from the middle ages to be what humanity is today. These people make a change to society as it evolves; they leave their mark behind, they help our race evolve. Jean Sasson truly is one of these fortunate few.( )

As a professional expatriate who has travelled the world, lived in the Saudi Arabia, and has had the good fortune of seeing so many different cultures, I say: "Jean Sasson, I salute you. You have had the strength to stand up and say your piece. You are making a difference and are leaving an indelible mark to humanity. The books are important and are making a change. Keep writing!"

I had to buy this one from England, but it was worth it. Actually, it was my favorite of the three. These books just keep getting better and better. They've made a reader out of me, and nothing else ever did.