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

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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.

Bin Laden is just like a lot of spoiled rich kids, except that he's not. We find that he was heir to a construction fortune, but that he was a fine busnessman in his own right. He excelled at civil engineering. He likes to drive fast cars--fast. He allowed his first wife to select his third wife, as though she were choosing new decor for the living room. He takes his family from the luxury of Saudi Arabia to the poverty of a mountain cave in Afghanistan.

Sasson was the first major writer to open up the veiled life of Saudi women in her blockbuster, "Princess." Many critics, including the illustrious Christopher Hitchens, dismissed it as over-written and false. Then, after the Gulf War, we found out that Sasson was right. Now she takes us into the family life of Osama bin Laden. This is an important book. If we think of bin Laden as a one-dimensional monster, we will never understand him. He's an enemy of democracy and western liberalism, but we'll never prevail over him and his followers if we remain ignorant of all aspects of his life.

This is the most fascinating book I've read in a long, long while.

I was sorry when I came to the end of Growing Up Bin Laden; I wanted more. I read it slowly and savoured it as much as I could, but it is a page turner. I worked for many years in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates; I have travelled overland through Afghanistan and Pakistan and can vouch that Jean Sasson has caught the atmosphere and the modus vivendi of the region.

As the stories told by Nawja and Omar unfolded I could easily picture the lives they lived and was touched by their loyalty to Osama bin Laden. But I was so deeply shocked when Osama told Omar and his brothers that they meant no more to him than any other Afghani, that even now there lingers an ache for them. Maybe one day Ms Sasson will interview Osama and get his side of the story!

This is an easy, informative and interesting read. Although the events are harrowing at times Nawja and Omar hold onto their hope until the very end when they are forced to accept reality.

Until September 11, 2001 the world paid little serious attention to significant terrorist attacks around the world. With the 9-11 attack of the World Trade Center the world woke up realizing there is a new world order of terrorism that will remain a threat until those responsible are eliminated from the planet. The birth of modern terrorism was fathered by Osama bin Laden in 1988 when he founded Al-qaeda. While born of enormous wealth with the opportunity to do good he chose a path of evil. From December 1991-2008 there were 22 major terrorist attacks around the world. The United States experienced 2 attacks in 2009, one at Ft. Hood, Texas, the second on Christmas Day when a radical Islamic terrorist attempted to blow up a passenger plane approaching Detroit Metro Airport. Given this backdrop it is imperative the world be aware of the man responsible and the twisted logic behind his endeavor to convert every human being to Islam or kill them. His true nature is revealed through the daring expose' made possible by his first wife Najwa and fourth son Omar as co-authored with best-selling author Jean Sasson. Osama had at least 4 wives and 20 children. Obviously, possessed by his ambition to murder, he was a part-time father and is a full-time terrorist. He moved his family from one hell-hole to another refusing them basic conveniences of life. He banned electricity, medicine, air conditioning, reasonable cooking facilities and appropriate sanitation. In their Tora Bora shack only animal skins covered windows in the harsh mountain winters. He forced his family to endure survival training by sleeping in holes in the ground with nothing but sand and twigs for cover. He took his sons to the desert and withheld food and water. He exposed his sons to training camps for Al-qaeda and proposed they sign a document at a mosque enlisting suicide bombers. Omar reveals that his father told him and his brothers they were no more important than any other human being. Osama loved expensive fast cars and horses. He experimented with deadly chemicals on the puppies from his own dog. While Najwa gives details of life with Osama and his other wives she is cautious not to be critical. Omar openly apposes the violence of his father and refuses to follow in his footsteps. At the urging of a friend in the mountains of Tora Bora Omar left Afghanistan in April 2001. Just prior to September 11, 2001 Osama allowed Najwa to leave but refused to let her take the other children. The fate of his other wives and children is unknown. This is a fascinating book and in my opinion is an extremely important document, not only from a historic aspect, but for intelligence information it provides to world governments involved in the war on terror. Perhaps more important is the understanding by every person on this planet that this terrorist and his followers must be eliminated before they destroy mankind. Appendix A reveals critical information about Osama bin Laden's family while Appendix B covers his personal, political, militant, and Islamic life from 1957 to 2009. Appendix C offers a very interesting chronology of Al-qaida from 1988 through 2008.
This book would not have been possible without the adamant desire of Najwa and Omar who wanted their stories told. Revealing secrets of life with Osama bin Laden was only possible through the trust they had in Jean Sasson. No doubt they chose her because of her reputation for honesty and integrity as a best selling author of several books dealing the Middle-Eastern culture and its treatment of women. As there is considerable jealousy in the writing/publishing world some may question the authenticity of this book. Aside from Jean Sasson's reputation for honesty and integrity she a thorough investigator with a tenacity for accurate details. I see no reason to question her work. I encourage every reader to purchase and read this book. To understand radical Islamic terrorism one must understand the mentality behind it. This book truly unmasks Osama bin Laden and provides insight regarding perhaps the most evil man on the planet.

Very important note: Readers note many attacks on Jean Sasson by one Monika Adsani, aka Anushka and other alias. Adsani claimed Jean Sasson stole her manuscript from which Princess (1992) and Princess Sultana's Daughter (a short time later) were written. Adsani filled a lawsuit against Sasson in which the court found absolutely no similarity between Adsani's manuscript and Sasson's books. The court ruled the suit frivilous and dismissed it with prejudice. Adsani has attacked Jean Sasson for over 2 decades and continues to do so with the publication of every book Sasson writes. I strongly suggest readers go to [...]/lawsuit for a full revelation of the facts and truth. You will also learn Jean Sasson is not the only victim!

I just finished this book and it was one of the most interesting books I've read in a long time. Most people never heard of Osama bin Laden until shortly after 9/11/2001, and for those who pay closer attention to the news, may remember him from the 1998 when his followers bombed American embassies in Kenya and Tanazania, or some may even remember him from before then. Either way, few people know of his life outside of his terrorist activities.

This book reveals basically his entire life from his childhood up until 2001. Osama was not always the mastermind terrorist we know him as now. He was a strict Muslim kid from an extremely wealthy and prominent family in Saudi Arabia who married his cousin, Najwa, when they were both teenagers. Najwa loved Osama, but he imposed strict limitations on her life. She had eleven children for Osama before leaving him literally days before 9/11.

Her fourth son, Omar, emerged as Osama's favorite and preferred successor to takeover Al Qaeda due to his intelligence. However, Omar was much different than Osama. He wanted peace, he did not want to kill anyone or anything, including animals, which he loved. Yet he was living in an environment where he was surrounded by killing and hatred. This made for an extremely difficult childhood for Omar.

Jean Sasson does an excellent job summarizing Osama's political activities at the end of chapters to relate how his political involvement related to what was going on in his home life.

This is honestly an excellent book that I think everyone should read if they want to know about Osama bin Laden or what it would be like living with him. What people need to realize is that Osama did not become the person he was overnight; it was an evolution of him becoming more and more reactionary towards the non-Muslim world. He was one of the wealthiest Saudis in the country and lived a comfortable life, but due to his belief that non-Muslims were taking over the Muslim world -- starting with the Russian-Afghanistan War, which is what really changed him and when he became a hero in much of the Muslim world -- he forfeited everything he had, and made his LARGE family endure misery with him, in support of his Jihad.

It's just fascinating to read about how a dedicated Muslim from an extremely wealthy and elite Saudi Arabian family grew into a militant fanatic who gave up everything (and made his family suffer with him) to fight an un-winnable war against "the West." Another interesting part of the book is when Omar discusses why Osama devotes so much of his hatred towards the United States instead of towards Israel, like many Muslim militants do.

This book will educate you on how Osama treated his wives, his children, how and why he went from a wealthy elite Saudi Arabian to a living in war-torn towns and mountains in Afghanistan, why he hated the United States and other non-Muslim nations, how he developed the beliefs he did, and -- perhaps most importantly -- how courageous some of his family members were, especially Omar bin Laden and Najwa bin Laden, who were very brave in the way they resisted, one way or another, Osama's paternal and militant dominance of the family.

If you're like me, you may finish this book feeling like the beliefs of Osama bin Laden, despite a small amount of fanatical followers, are becoming increasingly irrelevant in the Arab and Muslim world, especially in light of the Arab Spring. Many Muslims are rising up against their governments -- not for Jihad against the West like Osama wanted, -- but for democracy and human rights. Hopefully we are witnessing significant democratic movements during this Arab Spring. However, the resentment towards the US and its indisputable support for Israel will likely continue to plague relations between the US and many Muslim nations until Israel -- perhaps with a nudge from Washington -- agrees to negotiate with Palestinians.

this book is excellent it really takes you inside bin ladens life and exsposes him as not only the terrorist but and educated muslim who cared about his people

I 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 contrast 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.

A great read for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of how someone cultivates the seeds of hate. The perspectives of Osama's first wife and his son shed insight into bin laden's personality that until now we could have only guessed at. The conditions he forced his family to live in, and the fact that he failed to accomplish one of his goals--to make his son hate as well, make this story that much more engrossing.

This is not quite what I expected but a very good read. It told the story from his wife and fourth son of what it was like to share life with him. As I read the book I could tell that his madness became worse and worse until his wives could not bare to be with him anymore. In the beginning he was a gentle quiet man but that changed.

This is an excellent book and insight into the family of Osama bin Laden. My heart goes out to his wives and children who were prisioners to a lifestyle they did not agreee with. It was interesting to see his wife's dedication to her place as a muslin wife still believing she needed her husband to protect her and her family when all he brought onto them was harshness and impossible living conditions. It is hard to understand a woman's and mother's fatalism to easily accept everything in her life as something prescribed by God as her lot in life.