Growing Up bin Laden: Osama's Wife and Son Take Us Inside Their Secret World (Hardcover)

~ Jean Sasson (Author), Omar bin Laden (Author), Najwa bin Laden (Author)

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Product Description

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:

 

• Osama’s 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
• Omar’s 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 Omar’s 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 Osama’s private life. Until now, Osama Bin Laden’s 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.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (October 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312560168
• ISBN-13: 978-0312560164
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,420 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Utterly fascinating book, November 5, 2009

By	BUXUS SEMPERVIRENS (USA-VIRGINIA) - See all my reviews

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I really don't know how to describe this book----it is not a book that is at all disrespectful of Osama bin Laden yet it is brutally honest. Two of the authors, a wife and a son of bin Laden, clearly love(d) the man but they have quite a saga to tell about life with him before he became a hate filled terrorist.
Their description of Osama's journey from devout Muslim to a jihadist is fascinating.
Their "take" on the reasons why Osama came to hate the West, particularly Americans and the British, is ---again---fascinating.
Furthermore, the main reason (according to them) that he plotted, planned and committed the acts that led to 9-11 are, if they are true, shocking and seem to involve his feelings of personal betrayal by the Saudi royal family regarding certain events of the First Gulf War.
The book starts off a bit slowly but catches up speed quickly and now I want re-read it and try to absorb more details.