Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia
by Carmen Bin Ladin
List Price:
Our Price: $4.98
You Save: $8.97 (64%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.68 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Carmen Bin LadinEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2005-06-13
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Warner Books
Book Reviews of Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia
Book Review: An extraordinary account of the life of women in Saudi Arabia
Summary: 5 Stars
Carmen bin Laden gives an account of the life she lived in Saudi Arabia when she married Yaslam bin Laden, the half-brother of Osama. This book goes to the heart of what it means to be a woman in Saudi society: according to her account, it is a life of imprisonment. Women are denied basic rights, such as the right to think independently or choose fulfilling careers. They are under the absolute rule of their husbands and are given no room for creativity, decision-making, or intellectual engagement. They are cut off from literature, philosophy, great books, and the free press. In many ways, they are seen by men as objects or property and even their husbands' servants will often refuse to take orders from them. In one account, Carmen describes an episode in which she was going to have the carpeting in her home redone. After the hired worker failed to do the job correctly, she gave him instructions. He refused to look at her and when she insisted that he obeyed his orders, he scornfully grunted, "I do not take orders from women." Only after Carmen was able to get a male member of the family to intervene did the servant come to understand that he was to obey the orders of Carmen when her husband was absent.
According to Carmen bin Laden, the rules in Saudi society are extremely burdensome and inefficient. Because women were not allowed to be seen in public during her years in Saudi Arabia, shopping was conducted by having the family's male driver go to a local store, pick up a few samples of inventory, come back to the home, have the woman select articles that she approved, and returning the unwanted items back to the store. When none of the items brought to the woman were satisfactory, several trips conducted in his manner were often necessary. In one account, she had her driver go back and forth several times to bring home Similac for her baby. After several unsuccessful trips, she decided to go out on her own to procure the formula. When she arrived at the store, however, it had to be completely evacuated before she could enter, lest a woman, even one fully covered up behind an abaya, be seen by a man.
The book is extremely well written and engaging. Carmen bin Laden has succeeded in presenting to the reader the tensions experienced when a woman raised with the freedoms of the West is immersed in the restrictive culture of Saudi society.
Summary of Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia
She Married Osama Bin Laden's Brother. Now She Dares to Tell Her Story. This international bestseller gives the shocking account of what it's like to be a woman-even a wealthy woman from a privileged family-in Saudi Arabia today. In an unprecedented act, Carmen Bin Ladin dares to throw off the veil that conceals one of the most powerful, secretive, and repressive countries in the world-and the Bin Laden family's role within it.Biographies & Memoirs Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Biographies & Memoirs Books
I Had a Hammer: The Hank Aaron Storyby Hank Aaron, Lonnie Wheeler
Harpercollins; Published: 1991-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.85
Price in other shops:
Cracked: Putting Broken Lives Together Againby Drew Pinsky
William Morrow; Published: 2003-08-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.43
Price in other shops:
The Last Season (P.S.)by Eric Blehm
Harper Perennial; Published: 2007-01-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.54
Price in other shops:
The Last Seasonby Eric Blehm
Harper; Published: 2006-04-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.55
Price in other shops:
Truck: A Love Story (P.S.)by Michael Perry
Harper Perennial; Published: 2007-07-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.04
Price in other shops:
My Grandfather's Son: A Memoirby Clarence Thomas
Harper Perennial; Published: 2008-10-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritansby Eve LaPlante
HarperOne; Published: 2004-03-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.99
Price in other shops:
100 Missions North/ a Fighter Pilot's Story of the Vietnam Warby Kenneth H. Bell
Brassey's Inc; Published: 1993-04; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
Macmillan Profiles: Villains & Outlawsby Et Al
MacMillan Reference Books; Published: 1998-10-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.93
Price in other shops:
Hawk : Occupation Skateboarderby Tony; Mortimer, Sean Hawk
Regan Books; Published: 2000; Hardcover; Book
Similar Books and other products
Some Girls: My Life in a Haremby Jillian Lauren
Plume; Published: 2010-04-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.83
Price in other shops:
The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Centuryby Steve Coll
Penguin Press HC, The; Published: 2008-04-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.60
Price in other shops:
I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorcedby Nujood Ali, Delphine Minoui
Broadway; Published: 2010-03-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
Princess Sultana's Daughtersby Jean Sasson
Windsor-Brooke Books, LLC; Published: 2001-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.73
Price in other shops:
Sold: One Woman's True Account of Modern Slaveryby Zana Muhsen, Andrew Crofts
Little, Brown Book Group; Published: 1994-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.16
Price in other shops:
Growing Up bin Laden: Osama's Wife and Son Take Us Inside Their Secret Worldby Omar bin Laden, Najwa bin Laden, Jean Sasson
St. Martin's Press; Published: 2009-10-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.57
Price in other shops:
Growing Up bin Laden: Osama's Wife and Son Take Us Inside Their Secret Worldby Najwa bin Laden, Omar bin Laden, Jean Sasson
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2010-12-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops:
Princess Sultana's Circle (Princess Trilogy)by Jean Sasson
Windsor-Brooke Books, LLC; Published: 2002-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.95
Price in other shops:
In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdomby Qanta Ahmed
Sourcebooks, Inc.; Published: 2008-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops:
Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabiaby Jean Sasson
Windsor-Brooke Books, LLC; Published: 2001-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.04
Price in other shops: