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Search - Inside the Kingdom : My Life in Saudi Arabia
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Inside the Kingdom : My Life in Saudi Arabia Author: |
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Book Information
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Other Versions of this Book: Paperback, Hardcover, Audio Cassette (Unabridged), Audio CD (Unabridged)
Book Description:
Osama bin Laden's former sister-in-law provides a penetrating, unusually inti- mate look into Saudi soci-ety and the bin Laden family's role within it, as well as the treatment of Saudi women. On September 11th, 2001, Carmen bin Ladin heard the news that the Twin Towers had been struck. She instinctively knew that her ex-brother-in-law was involved in these hor-rifying acts of terrorism, and her heart went out to America. She also knew that her life and the lives of her family would never be the same again. Carmen bin Ladin, half Swiss and half Persian, married into-and later divorced from-the bin Laden family and found herself inside a complex and vast clan, part of a society that she neither knew nor understood. Her story takes us inside the bin Laden family and one of the most powerful, secretive, and repressed kingdoms in the world.
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Top Member Book Reviews
Lisa R. (
6 member(s) found this review helpful.
This was an interesting look inside the Ben Ladin clan, but I couldn't help getting a little irritated with Carmen Bin Ladin. She complains about how oppressed these women are and yet she stayed with her husband for years and years. She whined about the unattractively decorated little suburban-type houses, though I would say it was a pretty high-end suburb from the photo of their backyard. She comes off as a bit of a gold-digger since she talks a lot about the large allowances the ladies had to buy expensive clothes and other baubles. The book left me still wondering; what's it REALLY like living "Inside the Kingdom"? Ultimately, a slightly unsatisfying read.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Carmen Bin Ladin's account of her 1974 marriage into the Bin Laden family. I couldn't put this book down until I finished it. It provides insights into the Saudi Arabian culture with its archaic beliefs about women. Carmen was a young European woman who fancied herself in love, but was forced to join a culture that she did not understand. Forced to never be seen by a man outside of the family, she was unable to leave her home without the head-to-toe black abaya that would completely obliterated her female form and face. She became part of a culture completely ruled by men and found her life controlled beyond endurance. As her marriage fell apart, she found herself questioning what sort of life she wanted for her daughters in the future and this dictates much of her future actions.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Tells a story of the ruling class in Saudi Arabia and a look at the Bin Laden Tribe. It is amazing to me that women are treated as property and can be killed at will. I do not understand why any women continue to live in Saudia Arabia under such horrible conditions and human rights violations.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Carmen Bin Ladin chronicles her nine years of married life in a puritanical, male-dominated community where ' women are no more than house pets'. The book is a diary-style account of her struggle to cope with rules and strictures as suffocating as the desert climate.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A chilling look under the veil of a Saudi woman, who just happens to be Osama's sister-in law. this book clearly shows that Saudi Arabia is not a trustworthy friend, that the the Saudi women are prisoners of their families and the system.
Linda C. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Interesting perspective.
Please Rate these Book Reviews
This book is a quick read. I found it quite enlightening reading about family life in 'The Kingdom'. I reccomend it.
I enjoyed the book very much. I felt it was very eye opening from the aspect of a woman who could marry a Saudi man. We are so monumentally naive about how we would be treated if we lived in Saudi Arabia. We would have not rights to our children, nor ourselves. I was honestly astounded. Carmen gave a real westerners view of a priveleged woman's life behind the sand wall.
I found this a fascinating look at the struggle of a "western " woman to make a life in the Saudi society. She seemed to truly love her husband, but the strictures of his society suffocated her and her girls. Truly made me appreciate America!
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