Grand Central Publishing Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia

Great book.

great story

An easy read (1-2 days); one woman's informative experience with Saudi culture and her marriage into the infamous Osama bin Laden family, namely to Osama's older brother, Yesham, who lived and thrived in America, clearly with all the benefits of American citizenship and culture. Mrs. Bin Ladin (note the spelling difference-she covers this in the book), establishes a suspiciousness of something being hidden within and between Saudi and American governments in the 9-11 incident (et alii), and somewhat, if not completely controversial to what has been reported by media and government as strictly a "terrorist act". She suggests deeper political implications in this book.Family struggles, child rearing concerns for daughters with harsh social restrictions of personal freedoms, socializing (or the lack of it) and strict adherence to Islamic/Moslem religious life in Saudi Arabia is also covered, following her personal relationships/interactions within the strata of this particular family.As well, she covers some interesting historical data about historical Saudi developments and its transitions, while she also witnesses the personal side of the Bin Laden family business, yet from afar.She also describes her life as a female, entrapped with a limited existence indoors, never being allowed to partake in outside activities, or at least rarely. She compares American freedom with Saudi restrictions on females, especially in relation to her return to America with explicit intentions to raise her daughters absent of an oppressive lifestyle.

This is a valuable book for it's inside look at the Bin Laden family. It shows us how they worked and how they thought, kind of an emic anthropological approach. It should be read because there's simply nothing else out there that reveals this kind of information with this detail.But the book was far too vindictive, especially towards a very quick ending. It reads like a divorced woman writing with her anger still intact, attempting to build a case for why the divorce happened and why she was not at fault. In retrospect, the entire book, even the happy years, are coloured with the perspective of divorce. Certainly, from the perspective presented, Carmen has a case for anger. But it is one side- and, I'd rather read a book on what it's like to live in the Bin Laden family, than a book on why Carmen's marriage failed.Carmen expresses little love for the Saudi culture and little support for the people. It is almost an entirely negative portrayal. It seems like the story of a woman in extreme culture shock and culture stress who has never really recognized that she was in culture stress, or dealt with it. I live in a Muslim, Arab country. It's certainly not as restrictive as Saudi Arabia. But there is a lot I find to value in the culture here, though I am neither Muslim nor Arabic- and a lot I find valuable specifically in Islam and even strict Ikhwani Islam. Perhaps there is negatives in Saudi culture, as there is in every culture. If those are going to be pointed out, 1) it should be clear that this is an outsider perspective (which Carmen does), and 2) the positives should also be displayed. You can search through this book for a long time, and find nothing positive shared about Saudi culture. And after all, this is a culture God is involved with as well.In these times, it is valuable to understand what it's like for Westerners to live in Saudi Arabia, and how the Bin Laden family works. This makes the book important to read. But read it with a large shaker of salt next to you. You'll need to be pouring some on nearly every page.

This was a very engaging and interesting story that unfortunately gives a behind the scenes look at what a woman of privelege experienced inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I enjoyed reading Carmen Bin Ladens story but do not think that loving the book could accurately characterize how I felt about the story of her life presented. The book is very well written and clear and is a strong indictment about the entire culture and horrendous abuse, mistreatment and constant discrimantion that women must live through on a daily basis . The book provides many details and specifics.....So as far as love the book no.........fascinating and could not put the book down yes.