Growing Up bin Laden was written as it was told to Jean Sasson by Najwa bin Laden, who is Osama's cousin and 1st wife, plus Omar bin Laden, their 4th born son. Each chapter is written in the first person with a seperate chapter for mother and son. There are seperate chapters written by Jean to explain Osama's political activities. This is an amazing story spread over 37 years and describes the busy family man and examines his role as a husband and father. It is a nicely told story of a very large family. It is an enjoyable read as the reader travels through Syria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Pakistan and Afghanistan. This great adventure brings a good understanding of Osama who was a very private man.
Growing Up bin Laden is very good at explaining Muslim culture which helps the reader understand the dynamics of family life in Muslim countries. Najwa and Omar give the reader a wonderful insight into their family life with all it's joys and frustrations. This is a very honest family tale and because it is written in the first person, the reader really gets engaged with the story. The strongest part for me told by Najwa was when she moved to the Tora Bora Mountains in Afghanistan...
I sat there, peering through the burqa’s latticed opening into the star-filled skies of Afghanistan. I was no longer a part of the hustle and bustle of earthly life. In fact, I knew that somewhere beyond the mountains of Tora Bora a busy world was passing me by. Such thoughts made me feel entirely alone in the world, a burqa-clad woman forgotten to all. Few people in the world even knew that Najwa Ghanem bin Laden existed. Yet no one could deny that I had lived, for I was a woman who had given life to nine children, with a tenth child soon to be.
...The strongest parts for me told by Omar were also when he moved to the Tora Bora Mountains in Afghanistan...
I really could not believe that our lives had come to this. My father was a member of one of the wealthiest families of Saudi Arabia. My cousins were relaxing in fine homes and attending the best schools. Here I was, the son of a wealthy bin Laden, living in a lawless land, wheezing for air in a small Toyota truck, surrounded by Afghan warriors carrying powerful weapons, on my way to help my father claim a mountain hut for our family home.
...There is also that lovely mother and son dynamic when Omar recalls...
Peaceful hours passed as we sat quietly or, when in the mood for talking, discussed our lives, and how strange it was that we had started out in a palace in Jeddah and ended in a rock hut on a mountain in Afghanistan.
...Growing Up bin Laden starts with Najwa's marriage in 1974 and ends in September 2001 with the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers. By 2001 Najwa had given birth to a total of 11 children. Osama had other wives and children too but with the illegal invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, many bombs were dropped and many civilians were killed. The bin Laden family is very large indeed and the great sadness was that family members from 2001 did not know what happened to other family members, where they lived or if they survived the bombing. This book concludes with some final comments from Jean plus 3 appendix's and an index.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Growing Up bin Laden. It was a great adventure story that answered a lot of questions. I loved the way the story was told from 2 seperate points of view that followed the same time line. I can't find any fault with this book so I will be voting it the maximum of 5 stars on Good Reads .
Najwa's, Omar's and Jean's chapters let the reader form their own opinion of Osama bin Laden, Islam and the West. The reader then understands why things developed the way they did and all the mistakes of history. At the end of this book you draw your own conclusions, I certainly have and must say thank you to Najwa, Omar and Jean for publishing this amazing story.
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