Book Description
PRINCES: A TRUE STORY OF LIFE BEHIND THE VEIL IN SAUDI ARABIA describes the life of Princess Sultana Al Sa'ud, a princess in the royal house of Saudi Arabia. Hidden behind her black veil, she is a prisoner, jailed by her father, her husband, and her country.
Sultana tells of appalling oppressions, everyday occurrences that in any other culture would be seen as shocking human rights violations: thirteen-year-old girls forced to marry men five times their age, young women killed by drowning, stoning, or isolation in the "women's room."
PRINCESS is a testimony to a woman of indomitable spirit and courage, and you will never forget her or her Muslim sisters.
Customer Reviews:
in the sad by true catagory .......2007-09-29
I read this book more than 10 years ago and it still haunts me to this day. "Princess" is the most frightening book I have ever read because it is a true story!
In 1992 when this book was first published it became an instant sensation all over the world. This is the first book written about Saudi Arabia that really gives an honest portrayal of what life is really like for the women living in this historically oppressive country. The Saudi government even banned "Princess" because this book candidly "lifts the veil" on the culture surrounding women in their Kingdom.
Ms. Jean Sasson tells the first-hand story of Princess Sultana, a Royal living in the extremely discouraging Saudi Arabia. I have read all of Ms. Sasson's books, but "Princess" is my favorite. I am certain that anyone with a modicum of decency will be outraged and shocked after reading this book.
The book is written in first-person which makes for a very interesting read. Also included in the book is lots of extra info about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, maps, a glossary and even some pictures. This book was both enthralling and educational because Jean Sasson is a rare writer that has a very gifted talent.
In 1948 the United Nations General Assembly came up with a list of human rights which is supposed to be guaranteed for every single human being; all over the world. This very basic list is called the "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights," and countries such as Saudi Arabia have consistently chosen to ignore these basic human rights.
Why is the Middle East and especially Islamic States such as Saudi Arabia so oppressive towards women? I have asked myself this question ever since I first read Princess Sultana's story. I wish the US would do more, but they are already viewed as a "bully" in this region of the world. Maybe the US cares more about oil than about the millions of women that are living in a modern-day Holocaust?
Jean Sasson wrote two other books about Princess Sultana and her family, Princess Sultana's Daughters and Princess Sultana's Circle (Princess Trilogy); both of which are beyond gripping. I really hope there will be more books updating readers about the Princess and about the plight of women's equality in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I'd also love to read a book discussing homosexuality within the Middle East/Islamic States, such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Gay men (and women) are virtually unheard of and are often murdered or imprisoned simply for being homosexual or lesbian. When the Iranian President recently told Columbia University that there are "no homosexuals in Iran" I had to laugh at his blatant homophobia, hatred, and disregard to human life. What a sick and bigoted statement to make. I also recommend picking up Ms. Sasson's latest book, Love in a Torn Land: Joanna of Kurdistan: The True Story of a Freedom Fighter's Escape from Iraqi Vengeance. This is an excellent tome, as well.
To refer to Saudi Arabia simply as "sexist," is, in my humble opinion a kind word for this dictatorship. Because, at least the word "sexist" has some meaning behind it. But as I learned in "Princess," women have no meaning because they are regarded as property. I really commend Ms. Sasson for having the courage to tell the this very disconsolate story. There isn't even a word for "sexist" in the Arabic language. Without say a word, that manages to say it all!
Excellent Personal Account of Life in Saudi Arabia.......2007-08-31
While reading this book, I was impressed with the writing style and verbage that the author used. It was an interesting look at the inside of The Kingdom that many people know little about. This book was tragically sad in many parts but hilariously funny in others. I am admiring of the Sultana and her strength in personality and character; especially when standing up to her brother and husband. She seems to be truly a good person and is someone I wish I could meet in person. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the position of women in Saudi Arabia.
"Life Behind the Veil" or "Why Being a Girl in Saudi Arabia Really, Really Sucks".......2007-08-17
I'm an educated person, and I am very much aware of the basic freedoms that women in Saudi Arabia are lacking. However, reading "Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia" sheds a whole new light on the horrific realities of life for women in this god-forsaken country.
This book is the real story of Princess Sultana, a member of Saudi Arabia's royal family. The name Sultana is an alias: If anyone in her family learned her true identity, she and her children would face deadly consequences. Instead, Sultana tells her story with the help of author Jean Sasson, a writer who befriended the princess while living and working in Saudi Arabia.
"Princess" details Sultana's upbringing in a home where the father had absolutely no regard for any of his daughters and instead catered only to the desires of his wretched son, Ali. Sultana was tormented by her older brother, and she was always determined to figure out a way to build a better life for herself and attain more rights than women are generally allowed in her country.
In Saudi Arabia, women are forced to wear black veils that cover their entire face. They can't drive cars, live independently, or make any decisions for themselves. Women are not valued as individuals, and in many cases Arabian men view women solely as their own sexual outlets. It's common for women and young girls to be raped by just about anyone. Women can even be stoned to death for their so-called "lewd" behavior, but of course men are never punished for their brutal crimes.
Sultana gives many examples of women she has known who met horrible fates, and she describes her own frustrations of being ruled by her father, brother, and eventually her husband. Because Sultana is a member of the royal family, she has a much better life than most women do in Saudi Arabia, and that's a terrifying thought. Sultana also has a strong, feisty spirit, but even her unflinching determination to change things has little effect on the events that unravel around her.
"Princess" is a wonderful book, but it's also extremely sad because it paints such a vivid picture of the horrors that Arabian women endure on a daily basis. It's almost impossible for me to fathom that a country in our modern world still adheres to these archaic practices, but it's true. Now that I've read this book, I'm anxious to learn more about the current state of affairs in Saudi Arabia: Have things improved even the slightest bit in the past 17 years? I'm almost afraid to find out.
Wow!.......2007-07-11
This book was eye-opening. I had the great fortune of reading it about a year ago, after buying it from a second-hand store. After completing it within two days (which is amazing for me), I felt compelled to tell other people about it. My cousin borrowed it, and she loved it, too (so much that I actually had to steal it back from her when I visited). You learn about the thought process of some of the women of Saudi Arabia, and how they can have a love-hate relationship with their placement in society. You become more aware of human rights violations and their effects. It's very interesting, and it makes you want to do something to help her.
A real life heroin who dares to lift the veil.......2007-06-15
This true story reads just like a novel. It's the story of Sultana, a fiery Princess for the ruling house of Al Sa'ud in Saudi Arabia. Throughout her personal experiences we learn a lot on the status of women in the country regardless of their social rank, and it shows how the culture that they cherish and accept to a certain degree is also one that they hate but have very little power over. This is fascinating and I highly recommend the trilogy to anyone who is interested in women in Saudi Arabia. I also recommend another book "Nine parts of desire" by Geraldine Brooks, which covers the same topic.
Amazon.com
According to Robert Baer, the center of the global economy is a "kingdom built on thievery, one that nurtures terrorism, destroys any possibility of a middle class based on property rights, and promotes slavery and prostitution." This kingdom also sits on one quarter of the world's oil reserves, thus ensuring that it receives the full support and protection of the U.S. government. Sleeping With the Devil details the hypocritical and corrupt relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia and the potentially calamitous economic consequences of maintaining this Faustian bargain. As Baer makes clear, the U.S. has been aware of problems within the bitterly divided Al Sa'ud family for years, but has ignored the facts in order to keep lucrative business deals afloat. (The amount of money the royal family spends to influence powerful American politicians and lobbyists is staggering.) Particularly damning are his details regarding Saudi Arabia's support of militant Islamic groups, including al Qaeda. The ruling family funnels millions of dollars to such groups in order to dissuade them from overthrowing the monarchy--a protection scheme that is shaky at best, given the hatred most citizens feel for the ruling family. To prevent economic disaster that could come from either a local uprising or an interruption in the flow of oil due to terrorism, Baer raises the possibility of the U.S. seizing the Saudi oil fields and forcing a regime change on its own terms: "An invasion and a revolution might be the only things that can save the industrial West from a prolonged, wrenching depression," he warns.
Baer spent 21 years with the CIA, much of it in the Middle East, so he is an informed guide to this complex subject. His alarming book deserves to be read for raising many important and troubling questions. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
“Saudi Arabia is more and more an irrational state—a place that spawns global terrorism even as it succumbs to an ancient and deeply seated isolationism, a kingdom led by a royal family that can’t get out of the way of its own greed. Is this the fulcrum we want the global economy to balance on?”
In his explosive New York Times bestseller,
See No Evil, former CIA operative Robert Baer exposed how Washington politics drastically compromised the CIA’s efforts to fight global terrorism. Now in his powerful new book, Sleeping with the Devil, Baer turns his attention to Saudi Arabia, revealing how our government’s cynical relationship with our Middle Eastern ally and America’s dependence on Saudi oil make us increasingly vulnerable to economic disaster and put us at risk for further acts of terrorism.
For decades, the United States and Saudi Arabia have been locked in a “harmony of interests.” America counted on the Saudis for cheap oil, political stability in the Middle East, and lucrative business relationships for the United States, while providing a voracious market for the kingdom’s vast oil reserves. With money and oil flowing freely between Washington and Riyadh, the United States has felt secure in its relationship with the Saudis and the ruling Al Sa’ud family. But the rot at the core of our “friendship” with the Saudis was dramatically revealed when it became apparent that fifteen of the nineteen September 11 hijackers proved to be Saudi citizens.
In
Sleeping with the Devil, Baer documents with chilling clarity how our addiction to cheap oil and Saudi petrodollars caused us to turn a blind eye to the Al Sa’ud’s culture of bribery, its abysmal human rights record, and its financial support of fundamentalist Islamic groups that have been directly linked to international acts of terror, including those against the United States. Drawing on his experience as a field operative who was on the ground in the Middle East for much of his twenty years with the agency, as well as the large network of sources he has cultivated in the region and in the U.S. intelligence community, Baer vividly portrays our decades-old relationship with the increasingly dysfunctional and corrupt Al Sa’ud family, the fierce anti-Western sentiment that is sweeping the kingdom, and the desperate link between the two. In hopes of saving its own neck, the royal family has been shoveling money as fast as it can to mosque schools that preach hatred of America and to militant fundamentalist groups—an end game just waiting to play out.
Baer not only reveals the outrageous excesses of a Saudi royal family completely out of touch with the people of its kingdom, he also takes readers on a highly personal search for the deeper roots of modern terrorism, a journey that returns time again and again to Saudi Arabia: to the Wahhabis, the powerful Islamic sect that rules the Saudi street; to the Taliban and al Qaeda, both of which Saudi Arabia helped to underwrite; and to the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the most active and effective terrorist groups in existence, which the Al Sa’ud have sheltered and funded. The money and arms that we send to Saudi Arabia are, in effect, being used to cut our own throat, Baer writes, but America might have only itself to blame. So long as we continue to encourage the highly volatile Saudi state to bank our oil under its sand—and so long as we continue to grab at the Al Sa’ud’s money—we are laying the groundwork for a potential global economic catastrophe.
From the Hardcover edition.
Download Description
Saudi Arabia is more and more an irrational state -- a place that spawns global terrorism even as it succumbs to an ancient and deeply seated isolationism, a kingdom led by a royal family that can't get out of the way of its own greed. Is this the fulcrum we want the global economy to balance on?"
In his explosive New York Times bestseller, See No Evil, former CIA operative Robert Baer exposed how Washington politics drastically compromised the CIA's efforts to fight global terrorism. Now in his powerful new book, Sleeping with the Devil, Baer turns his attention to Saudi Arabia, revealing how our government's cynical relationship with our Middle Eastern ally and America's dependence on Saudi oil make us increasingly vulnerable to economic disaster and put us at risk for further acts of terrorism.
For decades, the United States and Saudi Arabia have been locked in a "harmony of interests." America counted on the Saudis for cheap oil, political stability in the Middle East, and lucrative business relationships for the United States, while providing a voracious market for the kingdom's vast oil reserves. With money and oil flowing freely between Washington and Riyadh, the United States has felt secure in its relationship with the Saudis and the ruling Al Sa'ud family. But the rot at the core of our "friendship" with the Saudis was dramatically revealed when it became apparent that fifteen of the nineteen September 11 hijackers proved to be Saudi citizens.
In Sleeping with the Devil, Baer documents with chilling clarity how our addiction to cheap oil and Saudi petrodollars caused us to turn a blind eye to the Al Sa'ud's culture of bribery, its abysmal human rights record, and its financial support of fundamentalist Islamic groups that have been directly linked to international acts of terror, including those against the United States. Drawing on his experience as a field operative who was on the ground in the Middle East for much of his twenty years with the agency, as well as the large network of sources he has cultivated in the region and in the U.S. intelligence community, Baer vividly portrays our decades-old relationship with the increasingly dysfunctional and corrupt Al Sa'ud family, the fierce anti-Western sentiment that is sweeping the kingdom, and the desperate link between the two. In hopes of saving its own neck, the royal family has been shoveling money as fast as it can to mosque schools that preach hatred of America and to militant fundamentalist groups -- an end game just waiting to play out.
Baer not only reveals the outrageous excesses of a Saudi royal family completely out of touch with the people of its kingdom, he also takes readers on a highly personal search for the deeper roots of modern terrorism, a journey that returns time again and again to Saudi Arabia: to the Wahhabis, the powerful Islamic sect that rules the Saudi street; to the Taliban and al Qaeda, both of which Saudi Arabia helped to underwrite; and to the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the most active and effective terrorist groups in existence, which the Al Sa'ud have sheltered and funded. The money and arms that we send to Saudi Arabia are, in effect, being used to cut our own throat, Baer writes, but America might have only itself to blame. So long as we continue to encourage the highly volatile Saudi state to bank our oil under its sand -- and so long as we continue to grab at the Al Sa'ud's money -- we are laying the groundwork for a potential global economic catastrophe.
Customer Reviews:
EXCELLENT FAST REVIEW of US/Saudi Politics (In Ketab ra kheli khubeh...Jedan Migham!).......2007-09-07
Easy 1-2 day read...a book you CAN'T put down! Excellent writing style with occasional humorous comments by Baer. An entertaining book, as well as informative!
The only negative aspect in reading many reviews here, is the failures of many to recognize that this publication is ONLY ONE example of internal causes and weaknesses of the US Government and corporate powers that I feel have led to potentially serious current and future economic concerns and failures in US policy, especially in regards to further class splitting and the more recent revelation of a diminishing middle class in the US! (The "Fall of Rome" kept resonating throughout this book!) Readers MUST remember that this is an example of a limited perspective of limited causes towards the deterioration of our nation's infrastructure...there are MANY OTHER contributing factors than just the examples Baer presents in his book in regards to "related terrorism", especially as Baer points out with regard to State Department Policy, as well as Department of Justice failures to address governmental weaknesses and lacking policy and logistics!
Baer does an EXCEPTIONAL job in pointing out the potential weaknesses that DO currently exist, especially in regards to policy cohesion (or lack thereof) between agencies, professionals, and related concerns. Personally, I feel that many attorneys and law makers are just as terroristic as "Islamic Extremists"! It seems that our "security" has become quite the political issue of the day, only to be revealed by some of Baer's direct and accurate statements!
It is awesome to see this representation of how "HUMAN GREED", not just "WESTERN GREED" exists in ALL parts of the world, as presented by Baer who addresses deeper causes of "radical religious extremism"! "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" resonates with examples of such worldly advice, not strictly against "western" ideology! A few Islamic extremists might remember that they just might be destroying innocent citizens in the west who COULD stand up against what "greed" has done to ALL HUMANS, not just their cause!!! I don't know too many Christian radicals who can justly rationalize the bombing of abortion clinics and killing of doctors as a fair representation of "right to life"!! I think that MANY Islamic extremists are also paddling upstream in a cement boat in much of that same ignorance that ANY extremist religions represent!
Unfortunately, "terrorism" has become just another "political catchphrase" and marketing strategy to distract the average citizen from deeper truths they really would want to avoid, very similar to the 'Zebras' running around in Kenya, Russia, Iran, Arabia and the Sudan, et alii...and just as freely in DC! The saddest aspect that Baer reveals is how GOOD CITIZENS are thwarted from truthful statements and records from the Zebras who are running circles around American Constitutional rights and the corruptions of "rule of law" in our courts, government and conglomerates with their own greedy agendas, absent of considerations for cause and effect, and especially towards those of us who voted for them in the first place, hoping for better integrity universally, instead of limited political and financial interests!
There is a lesson to be learned about "American Complacency"...it might just eventually put us in the same boat as the extremists who are attacking from both sides of the spectrum!
I have known many good foreigners and many bad ones...but I have known bad fellow Americans as well, especially ones with power and money to destroy our lives! I am glad to have seen Baer address that aspect of UNIVERSAL HUMAN NATURE in his book, as a recognition that "it's NOT the RACE, RELIGION or CULTURE, but it's the PERSONAL INTEGRITY within EACH OF US that REALLY matters!
The old adage, "give them enough rope, and they'll hang themselves", has really meant that the power struggle is in who is holding that extra rope! For Saudis, it's their misuses of power and wealth by a greedy Monarchy who seems to care nothing about "efficiently running a country for its own best interests" vs. personal greed. For Americans, it's those in government and corporate sectors who really are NOT looking out for AMERICA'S best interests, but simply their own greedy agendas! Decent "religious" people of ALL religions recognize this basic truth we share together! It's just too bad that so many "religious leaders" have implemented and instilled violence with a fanatical agenda to address their OWN agendas, and not truly the REAL Will of God! The same principal holds true in secular societies with relation to "good" social and personal behaviors vs. "bad" behaviors. Baer is brilliant in bringing this to light on such a large scale!
I hope some of those in power learn to do the right thing, like throw the REAL criminals in prison who are responsible for being traitors to our good country, as well as holding accountable those that Baer brings to light in his work! I think this book should be required reading in business ethics classes, as well as PoliSci classes! The 'political' implications of a national struggle for control of "National Security" vs. privacy becomes quite evident in Baer's book! Take a deeper look!
You will NOT regret buying this book, unless you can't handle the truth!
We have met the enemy and it is us .......2007-07-19
If one wants to understand at least part of the reason why things have not gone so well since 9/11 one would do well to read this book. Baer tells a woeful tale of corruption and cover-up in describing U.S.- Saudi relations. The Saudis according to Baer have put a lot of Americans on their payroll , and not only private individuals but those who serve in the CIA and State Department. Saudi bribery of Americans is paralleled by Saudi bribery done at home. The House of Saud and it's thirty- thousand princes have sold the educational system of the kingdom to the religious fanatics, who also happen to be major-exporters of Islamic terrorism. The fact that the Saudis are supposedly America's close ally while at the same time funding Terror is also underlined by the large Saudi presence among the suicide- bombers in Iraq.
Where all this is going to go is not clear, though Baer seems to feel the corrupt, oppressive rule of the House of Saud will in the not distant future come tumbling down.
Required Reading For All Voters.......2007-06-24
Sleeping with the Devil is written from Baer's own perspective as an intell and ex-intell officer. After having read portions of some academic books on this subject, this is one of the easiest and most compelling reads you're going to get on it, exactly because it approaches it from a personal standpoint of emotional reactions upon acquiring each bit of information. He is clearly not happy about the conclusions this information forces him to, but trudges on for the sake of truth and possible solutions.
What's the gist of this book? The U.S. political system, our intelligence & counterintelligence apparatus, the energy economy, the defense industry, and policy towards the Middle East are sinfully broken. Our officials have increased their standard of living and that of their friends by consorting with oil Arabs. Those Arabs have made huge defense contracts they cannot afford that fill U.S. elites' pockets. They also pump as much oil as possible to drive prices down to keep these U.S. officials elected.
The same Arabs are surrounded by radicals who want to overthrow them, so they fund them but force the terrorists overseas to funnel their hatred towards the West. All this time, the said wealthy Arabs are taking bribes and skimming off the top in order to live a life of debauchery, thus inciting even more fundamentalists inside their own country to hate them, causing an even greater need to appease them with more funds and push them out of the country towards us.
The United States has manipulated its way into getting our troops into the region in order to ensure this status quo. A concerted and bipartisan effort has been made to use the FBI and other agencies to help dissuade investigation of our Arab allies and help quiet descent. Americans are dying, the common Arab is poor and oppressed, but U.S. and Arab elites are staying influential and getting rich off it.
There is much, much more to it, but you need to read it for yourself. I will tell you the conclusions are not pretty. The United States is facing a crisis. We have political powers who are keeping information classified for the purpose of, at the worst, covering up corruption, or at the very least, severe impropriety in both southwestern Arabia and back home. The solutions suggested by Baer were self-reform by the politicians and corporate big-wigs, and, brace yourself, an outright invasion of a 400 mile stretch of oil real estate that includes Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.
While the self-reform was always unlikely, the invasion was not. However, it is a downright impossibility now. If we did, Muslims everywhere would turn against us, not just ideologically, but in a material sense. A third invasion of an Arab country, especially the one with the two most holy of Islam's sites, would not go well in light of the disaster in Iraq. It doesn't matter how sparsely populated that 400 mile stretch is. Furthermore, the American elites would have to be complicit in something they have a vested interest in preventing. Without the Sheikhs and Saudi royalty in the loop, the current scheme would dissolve. It'd be great for the average American and Arab, but if the politicians didn't have an incentive to stop this before, they don't have one now. They'll just keep milking this until the bitter end.
But the bitter end is coming whether we like it or not. The House of Saud will fall. Oil prices will rocket. The American economy will tank. We do not have the oil the public seems to think we have. We are not a Russia. China is a non-issue. They are a dependent and have almost no internal energy production infrastructure. Whoever needs cheep, cut-throat goods, they'll do business with. Russia, on the other hand, has enormous reserves and has the potential to regain its status in such a scenario.
So we can't invade that 400 mile strip. The politicians won't reform. There will be no required alliance with the Shiites, as shown with all the rhetoric towards Iran. And the inevitable is on the way. What do we have left? I would posit that the only solution left is to bring 'em home...all of them. It's unfortunate. I hate having to say this. However, it's clear the USA needs to protect our boarders, ports, and airports and hunker down. All the money we save from halting further major military exploits should be pumped into pure electric cars, fission nuclear power plants, and fusion nuclear power research. Domestically-produced oil products should be used only for heavy machinery, aircraft, and smaller machines like lawn mowers.
I do not think this is a similar situation to Japan at the end of WWII. They kept their emperor, police, and enough of their infrastructure to meet the basic necessities of life and prevent civil unrest. The Japanese government was part of the transfer. Iraq is almost complete anarchy. At this point, we are a distraction. The Sunnis and Shia should be fighting against Al Queda, not against us. They'll fight against each other regardless of what we do because we are not willing to commit the war crimes necessary to bring them under control...thank God. Someone else will fill that role. He'll likely be another Sunni, because a Shiite leader would have no reason not to just exterminate the minority.
Stopping terrorism should be a law enforcement and intelligence mission, with the military playing only a support role. The purpose of the U.S. military is to defend us, not invade countries and idiotically attempt to force democracy on people. Remember, it's "of the people, by the people", not "of a foreign nation, and by a foreign nation". This new fixation on counterinsurgency is a sickness that will ruin the military culture and rot its strategic defense capabilities from the inside out. Baer's correct that forcing democracy in the region will only cause more problems, but military action there of any kind is now outdated.
I fear that none of what we say matters, though. Those in power will keep exploiting this situation until the end. And when the crash occurs, they'll be the ones least affected. The rich Arabs will have their resorts and prostitutes, the Americans will have their seats on various corporate boards and lucrative speaking engagements. It doesn't even matter whether they're an exile from their kingdom, scapegoat, or red herring whistleblower. They'll all be taken care of.
Then again, maybe that's the best solution after all. If you just keep letting enough Americans die, the terrorists will avoid overthrowing their own governments and the rest of us will continue getting our cheap oil. Since the politicians are most likely to do exactly that, I am crossing my fingers that these deaths happen only in overseas war zones and not back here...and no one I know or love. I suppose the Bush mantra of "If we don't fight them over there we'll be fighting them at home" becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Isn't it nice to know that doing your part comes down to nothing more than crossing your fingers?
A great overview of shared corruption.......2007-06-13
Robert Baer has a very easy style and good anecdotes, which is helpful when entering the briar-patch of financial back-scratching relationships between US corporate leaders and politicians (all of them), with Saudi royals and businessmen, and the trickle-down of money and protection to terrorists.
Other (newer) books examine some of the specific relationships more extensively, and where Baer suggests possible unhealthy connections, he's usually understating the reality. What his book paints far more vividly than any of the others is the pervasiveness and severity of the ethical rot at the very core of both our government, and the Saudi government.
In 'See No Evil' he lambasted the Clinton White House for selling our security and our foreign policy for oil largesse -- in this book he has realized that the Bush WH is at least as bad, if not worse, and indeed all the administrations since Nixon have been up to their eyeballs in totally bipartisan oil-for-US policy trades. AIPAC can only dream.
He does have one oddly naive aspect, it seems to me -- he talks as if we introduced corruption to the Saudis. Perhaps he hangs on to the romantic fantasy of the Bedouin, but bribery, plundering, extortion and graft were part of the Arab tribal warlord culture for a thousand years before we showed up, and still is. Look at Arafat, Asad, Hariri, Mubarak, the Shah, Saddam -- we didn't teach the Arabs anything about corruption except more sophisticated banking and money-laundering techniques -- which, btw, they are now much better at than we are. If we hadn't been there, the French, Germans, Russians, or Brits would have gleefully wallowed in the same obscene level of corruption.
He makes an important point in his two non-fiction books that al Qaeda is essentially a PR front, something that gives name/face recognition to a truly vast, loose network of 'franchises.' They are all derived from and guided by the subtle, incredibly dangerous Muslim Brotherhood, which is funded by the Gulf States. AQ and Hamas are the above-ground mushrooms; MB is the vast subterranean web. The Sunni MB at times has worked very closely with Shia Iran, which directly runs Hizbullah, a group I think Baer underestimates somewhat as to global terrorist influence and impact.
Compelling non-fiction.......2007-05-21
Mr. Baer gives a very readable account of the ties that form an almost incestuous U.S. - Saudi relationship, in which America has for years pretended to neither see nor hear - and hence speak - no evil about the dark side of the Saudi kingdom's rulers.
Mr. Baer's book came out at the time of the second war with Iraq when many must have been wondering how the events of September 11th, 2001 justified the invasion. Fifteen of the 18 hijackers that attacked U.S. targets that day were Saudis. The other three were Egyptian.
For a fictionalized story that posits a very different U.S. - Saudi relationship, take a look at SAUDI MATCH POINT, a story that has America taking off the kid gloves in its treatment of the Saudis. In fact, the U.S. goes overboard, and in a twist, uses an impending hostage-taking as a convenient excuse to invade and seize control of Saudi Arabia's vast oil facilities and reserves. The novel is available online from Blacksmith Books.
Amazon.com
This is the exciting and highly literate story of the real Lawrence of Arabia, as written by Lawrence himself, who helped unify Arab factions against the occupying Turkish army, circa World War I. Lawrence has a novelist's eye for detail, a poet's command of the language, an adventurer's heart, a soldier's great story, and his memory and intellect are at least as good as all those. Lawrence describes the famous guerrilla raids, and train bombings you know from the movie, but also tells of the Arab people and politics with great penetration. Moreover, he is witty, always aware of the ethical tightrope that the English walked in the Middle East and always willing to include himself in his own withering insight.
Book Description
The monumental work that assured T.E. Lawrence's place in history as "Lawrence of Arabia." Not only a consummate military history, but also a colorful epic and a lyrical exploration of the mind of a great man who helped shape the Middle East as it exists today.
Customer Reviews:
A Unique Masterpiece.......2007-09-25
This is one of the great books of the 20th century. That it could be written at all is almost a miracle in itself. Take a brilliant Oxford student trained in the old classical tradition, place him in the Arabian desert as advisor to the wild Bedouin tribesmen during their revolt against the Turks and have him write with an acute sensitivity and unparalleld insight into what was transpiring before him and you may have some notion of what the book is like.
It's a long book. You will learn a great deal about blowing up a railroad bridge in the desert, about camel rides, thirst, and hunger and the heroism and brutality of war. The portraits of Sheik Auda, Sherrif Ali and Prince Faisal of the two Arab boys who Lawrence takes under his wing are masterpieces in and of themselves. The nobility and savagery of the desert tribesmen contrasted with the cold stoicism of the British and the inculcated cruelty of the Turks are just some of themes addressed during the course of the work. There are brilliant passing insights as to the Semitic inspiration for all the revealed religions and their relation to the desert beautiful descripitions of the terrain the weather and the obstacles encountered. When Lawrence says that from the beginning he believed the Arab revolt would succeed because it grew out of a sympathetic population was opposed by a modern army that could not garrison the territory occupied one wishes that President Bush had read it instead of just seeing the movie. Read it yourself.
The Hejaz War.......2007-06-10
The Hejaz War of 1917 was written by Colonel T.E. Lawrence at the Paris peace talks in 1920 -21. Lawrence understood the Arabs thay did not conquer territory but they brought the Arab tribes together to conquer the Ottoman Turkish Army whom they considered poor soldiers. The Hejaz is the Red Sea coast parallel to the extinct lava fields of the 3,000m high Hejaz mountains. The Hejaz railway, linking Damascus with Medina, was attacked by Lawrence's Hejaz army until the Turks could no longer repair it. The Seven Pillars of Wisdom is the bible of Guerilla Warfare and should be read by General Petraeus US Armed Forces Commander, Iraq.
The taking of Damascus intact in 1918 by the arab army before General Allenby's allied army at least ensured Sheikh Feisal became King of Iraq. The Sykes -Picot treaty of 1916 ensured the Middle East was divided up by Britain and France directly leading to the present Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Stylistic autobiography with insight.......2007-01-09
Mr. TE Lawrence was not only a gifted tactician/strategist but also a scholar of the highest order. His writing style is rich and descriptive avoiding the dry pitfalls sometimes associated with autobiographies. The story of the Arab revolt from the man who helped shape and guide it is an invaluable resource to have. TE Lawrence's thoughts on irregular/unconventional warfare are insightful and still lessons to be rememembered today. An enjoyable and insightful read- perfect for any military history collection.
Learning the Arab way.......2007-01-05
For me, the complexity of the Middle East seemed unfathomable. By reading this book, carefully, delving into the author's text, I have a better understanding of the people of the Middle East and their many tribes and cultural ways. I also can begin to understand their rivalries and methods of dealing with each other. It is a very complex society that will take the USA years to understand and deal with.
Extraordinary - History and the Man.......2006-11-10
At a critical time, the right man steeped forward (if somewhat indirectly) to encourage an Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire. This classic war novel is more than the usual, as it reveals a character tortured with self analysis.
Highly recommended.
Book Description
The New York Times bestseller by Osama bin Laden's sister-in-law that provides a penetrating look inside the Bin Laden family, Saudi society, and the treatment of Saudi women is now in paperback with a new chapter. In 1974, Carmen, half-Swiss and half-Persian, married into the Bin Laden family. She was young and in love, an independent European woman hurled into a society she neither knew nor understood. Her story takes us inside the Bin Laden family and a power structure in which men regularly subjugate their wives. It also tells of the author's own personal battle to keep custody of her three daughters after her 1988 separation from her husband. INSIDETHEKINGDOM dares to pull off the veil that conceals one of the most secretive countries in the world, revealing the intrigues and conflicts within its most infamous family.
Customer Reviews:
A memoir to life as a woman in Saudi Arabia........2007-10-16
This is a memoir of Carmen Bin Ladin's life as a child growing up in Switzerland; of later meeting her husband Yeslam Bin Ladin whilst a student in Geneva; of then living in Jeddah amongst the Bin Ladins; and finally to her painful divorce.
Carmen was born of a Swiss father and an Iranian mother. It was not accepted in Iran for a Muslim girl to marry a Christian foreigner, so her mother had to leave Iran to escape her family's harsh criticisms. But the marriage did not last long, and her mother could not return back to Iran in fear of being looked upon as a divorced woman, a curse in Iranian society.
After the divorce, Carmen and her mother remained in Switzerland. It was in Geneva that Carmen first met her husband to be, Yeslam Bin Ladin. She described him as being quiet, well dressed, and smart (later in life he used to compete with other princes on whom dressed better). Carmen soon started dating Yeslam, and humorously, she ends up getting married in a car in a parking lot in Saudi Arabia. Apparently, she was not allowed to enter the ministry building to sign the marriage papers, so the papers were brought to her whilst she sat waiting in the car. Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to mix with men, and therefore cannot enter buildings were men work. Getting married in a car was the first of the many culture shocks Carmen was to experience.
Carmen relates her life as the wife of a Bin Ladin. Mohammad Bin Ladin, the father of the Bin Ladin clan, had over 50 children and countless wives whom he kept at his compound at Kilo 7 in Jeddah. I think Kilo 7 refers to the Mecca Road, 7 being seven kilometers away from Jeddah, but someone will have to check me on that.
It is quite interesting that Mohammad Bin Laden would choose to keep all his wives together in one compound. In Islam, a man can have 4 wives at the same time. Mohammad Bin Laden therefore had to divorce a wife each time he wanted to remarry in order not to exceed the allowed quota of 4 wives. As long as one of his divorced wives did not remarry, she was allowed to stay in the compound together with her kids. It was even rumored that there was a competition going on between King Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia and Mohammad Bin Ladin on who will have more children. King Abdul-Aziz won, with over 60 children and many more wives.
Living at the Bin Ladin compound was hard for Carmen. She couldn't go shopping for she was prohibited from mixing with men. Whenever she needed something, such as a bathing suit, she had to send her driver. Eventually Safeway opened in Jeddah, and Carmen was able to go grocery shopping. She relates one instance where a group of British and American expats were all gathering at the chocolate aisle and filling their trolleys with chocolate boxes. Carmen later realized that the chocolates contained liqueur. Alcohol is prohibited in Saudi Arabia, but somehow the liqueur chocolates must have slipped by the customs officials.
Carmen's life was a reasonably happy one in the beginning. She describes her relationships with the other Bin Ladin wives; the relationship of her husband with his brothers; and of course, she talks about Osama Bin Ladin.
Apparently, Osama was a quiet man and very pious. Unlike his brothers who at first lived a lavish life and were known for their promiscuity and for being playboys, Osama never embraced the western liberal way of life. Carmen says that rumors of him having been a playboy in his younger days are just false. Even pictures allegedly showing him partying in Europe are not of him, but of his brothers who resemble him somewhat. Interestingly, she says that his brothers do not believe that he could have been capable of masterminding the 9/11 attacks on the United States.
Since the Bin Ladin family was the only family given exclusive rights to renovate the two holy sites, Mecca and Medina, the family was given preferential treatment. For example, if a policeman or a member of the religious police stopped one of the Bin Ladins, all they had to say was Bin Ladin, and they were quickly released or given right of way. No one asked for their IDs. This however was not good policy, for it allowed a group of Islamists, hidden in Bin Ladin trucks (which were never searched), to attack and seize the holy Mosque in Mecca in 1979. In fact, one of the Bin Ladin brothers was arrested as a suspect in the attack, but was soon released because he was a Bin Ladin.
When Mohammad Bin Ladin died in a plane crash he was piloting, the eldest son was still in his twenties. The king therefore appointed a trustee to run the family fortune. Eventually, as the brothers grew up, they took full control of the family business. According to Carmen, her husband Yeslam was the smartest of the brothers, and this gave rise to envy and jealousy. His brothers frequently downplayed his decisions, and publicly offended him. They also took credit for many of his savvy deals that added to his family's wealth and fame. Eventually, Yeslam quit his family business, was given 300 million dollars as his share of the family wealth, and moved to Switzerland. However, his brothers, eventually recognizing his value to the family business, asked him to return.
Carmen relates how she longed to travel outside Saudi Arabia, and how she enjoyed her freedom during her trips to Switzerland and the United States. One thing I liked about Carmen is that she is a bibliophile. She piled books on her travels to read while literally imprisoned in the Bin Ladin compound in Jeddah. She read all subjects, from philosophy to politics.
Carmen describes the state of mind of the Saudi Royals during the downfall of the Shah of Iran, and the rise of the Ayatollah Khomeini. Before the Ayatollah, Saudi Arabia was moving in the right direction, becoming more liberal and westernized. However, after the Iranian revolution, with fear of it spilling to Saudi Arabia, religious fanatics gained power and turned the country into a strict religious monarchy, very much like during the Taliban in Afghanistan. Women were not allowed to drive; had to be completely covered; were discouraged of going to school; were discouraged to go in public places; were forbidden from working; were not allowed to join any health clubs or do any sports; and were raised to be subservient to their future husbands. The country suddenly moved hundreds of years backwards! Carmen, who had high hopes of living in Jeddah, had her hopes collapse. Her life was becoming unbearable in Jeddah. She longed to go back to Switzerland.
Trouble between her and her husband first started during her third pregnancy. Her husband did not want the baby, and Carmen eventually had an abortion. She describes the psychological pain she had to endure after the abortion.
When Carmen was pregnant again, her husband once more asked her to have an abortion. This time she refused, and she knew that it would be over between them. To make matters worse, she learnt that her husband was cheating on her, and she even caught him leaving one of his mistress's homes in the middle of the morning.
Carmen gives us a lot of insight into the life of her husband Yeslam. Apparently, later in his life, he acted strange, was often depressed, and complained of imaginary illnesses. He also had a fear of flying, and refused to fly alone. Like his father, his brother Salem also died while piloting his own aircraft in Texas.
I did not like the last chapter which talked about the Bin Ladins. The chapter seemed more like an attack on the Bin Ladin family, as if Carmen wanted to get back at her ex-husband. She says that the Bin Ladin family should make their secret dealings open to public scrutiny, and that their present relation with Osama should be revealed. These statements somewhat weakened her book. If she knows something we don't she should just tell us, or better still, let the CIA know. I am sure she is genuine in her last chapter (chapter 19, conclusion), but I think it is more personal and revengeful than anything else. By the way, an additional chapter was added in later editions. The book I read had the added chapter included.
Overall, this is a good read for those who want to know about Saudi society in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s, and especially those wanting to learn about the Bin Ladin family. The reader should note that since King Abdullah gained the throne, Saudi Arabia has been moving forward at a tremendous speed, and the country is becoming more open, tolerant, and westernized. And kudos, women now outsmart the guys. Well done!
True to some extent.......2007-10-03
I just want to make clear that in Islam, women should be treated with respect. not to be held in their houses. If they need to go out somewhere, no one should stop them. It is when people start to bring their own culture and mix it with religion, that's where they go wrong. This women obviously was treated bad. But she shouldn't blame the Religion rather she should blame the culture of Saudis. I know Saudis say that 'its Islam we are practicing' but that's not Islam at all. Islam is very easy to follow its just the people who make it difficult upon themselves.
Fast, interesting, informative read.......2007-09-25
I'm certain there are a lot of books detailing the life of women in Saudi Arabia and doubtful this one is significantly different. That said, the book was very informative for someone who has had no exposure to how these women live or how the Saudi society operates, save for the media. It is a very fast read with simple sentence structure. None the less, it held my interest, so I do recommend it. My only criticism is the author did seem to have an agenda to point to Osama Bin Ladin as a terrorist, as well as the likelihood of the Saudi involvement in general, tying the Bin Ladin family and Saudi royalty together. Given this attention was given only in the initial and ending chapters, I was OK with it, though it did come across as a marketing ploy.
Good wakeup call - a MUST READ.......2007-09-24
This book was recommended by a friend. I got it on a Sat evening and finished it by Sunday evening - could not put it down. It is very well written and despite the fact that Carmen was married to Osama Bin Laden's brother (Yeslam) there are only a few mentions of Osama - most relating to how the family revered him for his fastidious religious practices. The rest focuses on Carmen's growing dismay and final realization that, despite all the wealth that is found in Saudi Arabia it can not buy was is needed most - the modernization of the culture and end to the oppression of both women and children (especially the female children).
It is a scary book when you realize it was written in 2004 and reflects a time even 10 yrs earlier - especially when you see what's happened since then in the Middle East.
This is a must read for anyone who wants to get an insider's view of the social/cultural climate of Saudi Arabia and at least a small understanding of why they view the Western world as they do.
Kudos to Carmen Bin Ladin for her courage, dedication and love for her daughters in coming forward to putting her experiences down for all of us to read.
From a member of the Saudi society.......2007-08-31
It was really hard to rate this book. Being a member of the society the author dedicated most of the book to criticize left me wondering what exactly she wants. We meet binladins everyday, we social with them, the binladin is a very large family and they are at the end only people. I can understand how the name "Binladin"is so appealing coz people associate it immediately to Osama binladin and I believe that's what the author aimed to do when writing this book. The author lived in Saudi Arabia so many years ago and things have changed a lot ever since. 50 years ago, women were completely illiterate with exception to basic reading and writing skills. Now, most of College's students are female. Yes, we do it our own way, we have separate colleges and universities but at the end we are well educated. The author way was so gossipy and she has no right to mention names but she did, which in my point of view makes the book just another form of "page six".
I really don't know why people are so very worried about us and about our future as Saudi women. I am a college educated woman with a professional career and a loving husband. I chose everything in my life. My study, my husband, my career, reading this book....etc. I picked this book out of curiosity just to know what Carmen wants to say.
I welcome all comments and discussions and here is my email address: hakadi@gmail.com.
Book Description
Twilight in the Desert reveals a Saudi oil and production industry that could soon approach a serious, irreversible decline. In this exhaustively researched book, veteran oil industry analyst Matthew Simmons draws on his three-plus decades of insider experience and more than 200 independently produced reports about Saudi petroleum resources and production operations. He uncovers a story about Saudi Arabia’s troubled oil industry, not to mention its political and societal instability, which differs sharply from the globally accepted Saudi version. It’s a story that is provocative and disturbing, based on undeniable facts, but until now never told in its entirety. Twilight in the Desert answers all readers’ questions about Saudi oil and production industries with keen examination instead of unsubstantiated posturing, and takes its place as one of the most important books of this still-young century.
Customer Reviews:
MATTHEW SIMMONS.......2007-07-28
Peak oil. That's the 100B$ question?
Technical analysis shows as that oil is in a bull market...
If this book is right 200$ oil is not science fiction, but rather reality.
Is that the end of oil or just another milestone
in the neverending story of oil bull and bear markets.
The future will tell...
It may be later than twilight in the desert.......2007-06-08
I heard so much about this book that I started to not buy it, thinking I knew what it said. I'm very glad I read it. I spent 30 years in the oil patch and I have to say that I think the author knows what he's talking about. He makes a very good case for Saudi Arabia's oil production being on the verge of a steep decline. For more on getting ready for very expensive oil see The Long Emergency.The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century
An important analysis, but too long by half.......2007-05-24
Saudi Arabia's economic foundations are increasingly fragile despite the run-up in oil prices during the past three years, driven in part by the disastrous invasion of Iraq. Simmons' work points to a looming problem - that Saudi Arabia has vastly overstated the country's oil reserves and production capacity. He gives sound technical analysis drawn from opinions of independent oil experts.
While it is an important book, the author could have covered the same ground in about half the 464 pages that he used.
For a succinct, fictionalized account of the types of non-economic problems besetting the Saudi regime and the future stability of oil markets, you might take a look at SAUDI MATCH POINT, published recently and available online from Blacksmith Books.
Lots of Food for Thought.......2007-05-10
Some have called Simmons a doomsayer. Others a prophet. With so many reviews of this book already posted, this one will be a bulleted list of some of Simmons' most salient points:
-The last big oil fields were found in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and most are in the middle east. This small part of the world produces most of the planet's oil. With little prospect of new oil discoveries, this is the 'twilight' phenomenon of the book's title.
-The U.S. is too dependent on foreign oil. This is not new. But even if we wanted to be self sufficient, our energy infrastructure is terribly outdated. Our average drilling rigs are 25 years old, and human drillers need 10 years of training--and we're not doing a good job of training new ones.
-Bottom line: we've used too much oil and paid too little for it during the past 50 years, while we've let our global energy infrastructure get too old. Now we all (China, Russia, Europe, and the U.S. in particular) need to work together to undo 50 years of mistakes.
That's Simmons' book in brief. It's thought provoking, although certainly many consider its arguments debatable. Despite one's position on available global oil supply (as well as global warming), in its most lucid and impassioned moments 'Twilight in the Desert' is a stirring call to action.
Well written & excellent analysis.......2007-04-29
Simmons presents a phenomenal analysis of Saudi Arabia's oil production (both their production claims & reality). In it, he presents the history of Saudi Aramco, walking you step by step through the production analysis, injecting definitions of key terms and technology primers along the way. This book presents a skeptic's view of the Saudi claims, and presents much research to back up his skepticism. One thing to note is that he never comes out and says that the Saudis are actually lying about production, but rather, suggests (rightly so), that they are not forthcoming about the reality of their situation, almost goading them into making public their production information.
I only have two minor complaints. First is that the reader is skewed into believing that the Saudis *cannot* substantially increase their production. This may be true, but the better claim would be to show that to do so would require substantial investments. Also, he never acknowledges that if the price of oil were to skyrocket, that market forced would make it quickly fall to a more reasonable level. Simmons is a financial analyst, and anyone who believes in market theory should acknowledge this, especially in a work this comprehensive.
Overall, this book will teach you more about how oil production actually occurs than anything short of a geology textbook, and presents an insight into the whole industry that is nothing short of a tour de force.
Book Description
Keeping technical terminology to a minimum, this comprehensive handbook provides a detailed yet accessible overview of Arabic wherein its phonology, morphology and syntax can be readily accessed. Accompanied by extensive examples, it will prove an invaluable practical guide for supporting students' textbooks, classroom work or self-study, and a useful resource for scholars and professionals.
Download Description
A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic is a comprehensive handbook on the structure of Arabic. Keeping technical terminology to a minimum, it provides a detailed yet accessible overview of Modern Standard Arabic in which the essential aspects of its phonology, morphology and syntax can be readily looked up and understood. Accompanied by extensive carefully-chosen examples, it will prove invaluable as a practical guide for supporting students' textbooks, classroom work or self-study, and will also be a useful resource for scholars and professionals wishing to develop an understanding of the key features of the language. Grammar notes are numbered for ease of reference, and a section is included on how to use an Arabic dictionary, as well as helpful glossaries of Arabic and English linguistic terms and a useful bibliography. Clearly structured and systematically organised, this book is set to become the standard guide to the grammar of contemporary Arabic.
Customer Reviews:
Solid Reference Grammar: it's what it says it is.......2007-10-07
This is an excellent reference manual for MSA Arabic. I found it a useful reference for somebody who already has a firm grasp of Arabic and would like to gain a deeper understanding of the language. If you are a beginner, or even intermediate student, this really isn't the right text for you. It is simply too difficult to make sense of without adequate background. I majored in Middle East Studies/Arabic and also lived in the Mid East for a while--and found it just right for me. I selected this book a while after graduating to solidify and deepen my understanding of the extreme complexities of the language. I was not the top student in written Arabic (nor was I the bottom student), so perhaps a more exceptional student academically could make use of it with less experience. Personally, I did much better in spoken Arabic, but less so in written Arabic--so I needed (need) a book like this.
The book does build from chapter to chapter, so skipping right to chapter 11, for instance, may be difficult for the average person. If you skip chapters, it assumes that you understand the previous chapters. The amount of material covered in this book is both its strength and it's weakness: if you are ready for over 700 pgs of complicated Arabic grammar (not a page is wasted), go for it. Again, I don't recommend this for any but the VERY serious intermediate student (any student of Arabic has to be serious--I mean serious even for an Arabic student), or advanced skilled Arabic user.
I think it is best to look elsewhere if you are having trouble with a particular concept. If you understand the concept at some level, and want to deepen your understanding, this book may be right for you. For example, verbs. If you in general know how to work an Arabic verb but want to know just how hollow verbs or assimilated verbs (/etc.) works beyond a basic recognition/survival ability, than this is a good choice. If you stumble with simple verbs then this is less useful--it will only confuse you with the level of detail.
However, everybody is different--I tend to be much less grammar oriented, and much more "speak to me and I'll speak back--if you look blank I'll try again" type of guy, not the academic guy. I got this book to balance that, and got more than my money's worth. This book is exactly what it says it is, and if that's what you want, get it.
Good, concise Arabic grammar guide.......2007-03-08
I have been studying Arabic for two years and this book is MUCH better at explaining Arabic grammar than the Ahlan wa Sahlan series by Mahdi Alosh. Though it is really dry (after all it is a reference guide), Ryding is much more concise and consistent than Alosh. She also presents the material in a sequential order that is more conducive to learning complex Arabic structure. I find this to be the most frustrating aspect of the Ahlan wa Sahlan series. Ryding also provides an excellent guide for Arabic verb structure which is the foundation of the language. Alosh only hits on it occassionally and well after a student of Arabic should be exposed to it.
The reason I am giving it 4 stars, instead of 5 is because she does get a little too technical with the usage of English grammar concepts. However, she does provide a good explanation for why she does this and it does help provide a better understanding of how Arabic relates.
I hightly recommend this guide as a companion to any university Arabic program. Wish I had discovered it two years ago!!
A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic.......2007-02-22
Found the book in good condition and on time
Best current reference on Arabic.......2006-09-10
In 39 crisp chapters covering more than 700 pages Ryding organizes both the grand lines and essential details of Arabic language structure and grammar. This is a highly readable, easily searched linguistic reference. The index really does the job and her list of references alone is a significant academic contribution. Finally, this gem will make life easier for both students of Arabic and researchers. All my thumbs are up for this once in a lifetime linguistic treasure.
breath-taking.......2006-08-26
after experimenting with a lot of arabic grammar books I have finally met the most engaging one.I can not imagine the right words to give sufficient definition of the capabilities of this breath-taking book.every sentence is supplied with full transliteration.extensive,exhausive but not exhaushing.it is a must to buy book.
Amazon.com
In the global search for culprits and causes in the rise of terrorism, former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Dore Gold shines a spotlight on a nation many think of as a close ally of the United States: Saudi Arabia. As he explains in Hatred's Kingdom: How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism, Gold believes that the Saudi government is greatly influenced by the Islamist sect known as Wahhabism and, he explains, that influence has lead to Saudi support of terrorism in the Middle East, Europe, the United States and around the world. The historical portion of Gold's argument, where he traces the emergence of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and the changing face of Saudi leadership, is admirably extensive and detailed. His modern research is a little more uneven, relying on statements by various Muslim clergy members, letters to the editors of newspapers, opinion pieces, and other evidence that is rarely damnable. Curiously, mentions of Israel and the long-standing Arab-Israeli conflict are much more infrequent than one would expect from an Israeli diplomat and scholar. But regardless of one's opinion of Gold's research or his alarming conclusions, the book offers something not often found in modern political nonfiction: a coherent structure, exhaustive research, and a clear and consistent perspective on the ongoing threat of terrorism. --John Moe
Book Description
Dore Gold, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. and internationally known Middle East expert, uses previously unpublished intelligence documents to piece together the links between the current wave of global terrorism-from the World Trade Center to Bali, Indonesia-and the ideology of hatred taught in the schools and mosques of Saudi Arabia.
Customer Reviews:
waste of time.......2007-05-10
Dore Gold has written a brave and honest book that, in previous civilizations, would have alarmed the populace and surely spurred them to action. All the evidence you need is right there in the appendices: photocopies, facsimilies, letters, what not. The case is airtight.
But what's the point?
Honestly. Saudi Arabia has been exposed to death. As exposed as anything can be. Everybody knows the score. Even the most mentally impaired village idiots in the backwaters of the Kalahari know that the Saudis have been encouraging and financing global terrorism for years, denying it all the while. This isn't news: anybody who was going to do anything about the situation has already done so, or made up their minds not to.
What would have made the book better is if Gold had gone beyond the mere reporting of non-news into an analysis of why the situation is the way it is. In other words, what exactly are the forces that compel or enable the people involved, from the illiterate Sri Lankan navvy sweeping the streets of Riyadh all the way up to well-informed advisors in the highest levels of U.S. government, and everybody in between, to keep their mouths shut?
The bets have all been placed. Everybody's hoping they can just stick it out and make their pile before the whole thing implodes, praying all the while it won't splatter on them.
Excellent and Enlightening.......2007-04-25
Contrary to some of the criticism leveled toward this book, I found this author to be very balanced and fair toward Islam. For example, Gold identifies the aspect of Wahabi theology that justifies jihad toward non-Wahabi Muslims, such as Shi'ites and Sufis. By labeling the latter as 'polytheists', extremist Wahabi groups have justified violence toward these groups as well as desecration of sacred Islamic sites. Gold documents both historic and modern examples of this, such as the intrusion of Wahabi jihadists into the Balkans.
I found it valuable to learn the symbiotic relationship between the Saudi Royal Family and the Wahabi clergy and how the royal family gives the latter power and influence in order to maintain favor. Also, how oil money has funded the export of radical Wahabi ideology and the terrorist activities conducted by the latter. And paradoxically, because of Western dependence on oil, the money came from the very countries the Wahabi ideology holds in contempt!
Sometimes the book is dense and hard to follow but I think every member of government who has a role in international affairs should read it.
Sadly, in reading this and other studies, it becomes apparent that Western democracies ended up supporting many terrorist regimes in their attempt to fight the Cold War. Supporting the 'bad guys' just because they are against one's current enemies is a dangerous and risky strategy indeed and makes us look like hypocrites. Jimmy Carter referred to Khomeini as a 'holy man'. We supported Sadaam Hussein. Look where it got us!
Hatred's Kingdom: How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism by Dore Gold.......2007-02-24
An excellent, comprehensive discussion of the roots of Islamic terrorism.
A history buff gets shamed..........2006-07-30
I am embarrassed to realize the extent of my own ignorance regarding the Wahabi menace. As a lover of history and one who could draw a fairly accurate survey of the events that shaped the West during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, I was grievously unaware of the monstrous theology and murderous campaign of Ibn `Abd Al-Wahhab. One wonders how the terrors of the crusades could compare to the genocidal murder of "impure" Muslims by the fanatical armies of Wahab. One wonders still why the West fails to see the ever-present and growing threat posed by the Wahhabi poison which spans out from Saudi Arabia (our allies?) to infect Muslims around the world. This book is required reading for every American who feels the need to make some progress toward understanding why some Muslims cultivate hatred above all other "virtues." Want to know why supposedly godly people feel compelled to murder innocent women, children, and men? Want to understand why they have no difficulty murdering their own kinsmen and fellow Muslims? It's the poisonous Muslim heresy of Wahhabism. Where does it come from and how is it funded and propagated across the globe? Saudi Arabia is Hatred's Kingdom as Dore Gold has dubbed it. This book is a good starting place and a dreadful portent of things to come as long as Saudi Arabia is not held accountable. The Saudi mission to spread Wahhabism has been incredibly "successful" in Indonesia, Chechnya, Bosnia, America, and of course, Palestine where their PLO has become the center of a maelstrom of Islamic hatred. One stat that might be instructive for all those who think the extremists are a small minority is that 79% of Palestinian children state that they want to be suicide bombers when they grow up. It would seem the "extremists" are the few who want peace. If you think this is all an academic discussion for Americans consider that 70% of the Mosques in America teach the Wahhabi doctrine. Get this book and learn what those "friendly" neighborhood mosque-goers really think about you.
Good start, weak finish.......2005-11-29
I found the historical chapters of the book (up until about 1960) to be most useful section. As we pass into King Fahd's reign, the reasoning becomes much more speculative. Nonetheless, the author presents a plausible scenario. Careful documentation of the links between the major players is useful, and however you slice it, the latter chapters show the razors' edge the political leaders of Saudi Arabia must walk.
Book Description
In her international best sellers, PRINCESS and PRINCESS SULTANA'S DAUGHTERS, Jean Sasson vividly depicted the harsh restrictions endured by Saudi women. These books described the lives of women who live in a society where they have few rights, little control over their own lives or bodies, and have no choice but to endure the atrocities perpetrated against them.
Now, in response to readers' tremendous outpouring of interest and affection for Sultana, as well as her works on behalf of oppressed women, Jean Sasson and the Princess continue to expose the outrageous human rights abuses suffered by women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
When Sultana's niece is forced into an arranged marriage with a cruel, depraved older man, and a royal cousin in revealed as keeping a harem of sex slaves, Sultana's attempts at intervention in their various plights are thwarted. But when her nephews are caught committing an unspeakable act against a 12-year-old girl, Sultana is galvanized into action. Risking her personal status and wealth, she takes a stand against the complacency of her male relatives over the child' fate. Ultimately, Sultana and her siters vow to form a circle of support that will surround and shelter abused women and girls.
As with PRINCESS and PRINCESS SULTANA'S DAUGHTERS, the reader is compelled to read just one more page, one more chapter, once they begin reading PRINCESS SULTANA'S CIRCLE.
Customer Reviews:
Saudi Arabia.......2007-03-27
I highly recommend reading the Princess Trilogy. I had a hard time putting the book down. It's a really easy read.
History.......2006-11-02
My review is the same as I gave for the book "Princess" It is very good
Good Read.......2006-09-22
This book was not better then the first book in the series but definately beter then the 2nd one. I found the story boring at time as some issues that were already discussed in the fist book where discussed again in the 3rd book. Other then that it was a good continuation.
For Goodpasture.......2006-05-25
Goodpasture, I simply had to share with you that I happen to know that the princess supports over 700 needy families, from feeding them to educating their children to tending to their health care. In fact, in the book, if you finished reading it, tells how her son bought a business in Pakistan and set the young woman up as the owner, where she is prospering. Although she did stay in the princess' sister's home for a while, it was explained in the book that they were afraid to send her home, that her parents might resell her. Everything takes time. I know two princesses extremely well, one from Saudi Arabia and one from Kuwait, and both are extremely generous and help people all over the world. I'm sorry you had such a negative opinion of the princess, but like I said, I'm confused that you didn't read on to see that indeed she did change the young woman's life in a very wonderful manner. Just because the princess is extremely wealthy and does enjoy her personal wealth, she gives away a mind-boggling amount of money, and for good causes. I just thought you would like to know, as well as others, so you would not feel so disappointed and angry at the princess over an impression that is not reality. Also, many things are not told in the books as some things would give her identity away on the spot.
Excellent Trilogy, would love more..........2004-10-04
This is the third book in the Princess trilogy. I raced through the book in two days. Princess Sultana's Circle goes more into situations, which Sultana tries to fix such as freeing a harem of women or saving her niece from a forced marriage to a disgusting older man. Princess Sultana finally emerges victorious in her struggle to help out somebody. In this book they also go over the holy month of Ramadan, camping in the desert, and shopping in New York.
The author does such a great job of making everything in this book so real and colorful that you feel like you are there. I would recommend any of the Princess books. I would suggest that it is always fun to start reading from the beginning of the trilogy because you get a good feel for all the characters. Great book!
Book Description
Readers of Princess Sultana's extraordinary story, PRINCESS, were gripped by her powerful indictment of women's lives behind the veil within the royal family of Saudi Arabia. Now, Jean Sasson turns the spotlight on Sultana's two teenage daughters, Maha and Amani.
As second-generation members of the royal family who have benefited from Saudi oil wealth, Maha and Amani have never known the poverty which their grandparents experienced as children. Surrounded by untold opulence and luxury from the day they were born and which they take for granted, but stifled by the unbearably restrictive lifestyle imposed on them, they have reacted in equally desperate ways.
Their dramatic and shocking stories, together with many more which concern other members of Princess Sultana's huge family, are set against a rich backcloth of Saudi Arabian culture and social mores which are depicted with equal color and authenticity. We learn, for example, of the fascinating ritual of the world-famous annual pirlgrimage to Makkah as we accompany the princess and her family to this holiest of cities.
Throughout, however, Sultana never tires of her quest to expose the injustices which her society levels against women. In her couragewious campaign to improve the lot of her own daughters of Arabia, Princess Sultana once more strikes a chord amongst all women who are lucky enough to have the freedom to speak out for themselves.
Customer Reviews:
Princess Series.......2007-01-10
I have read all the books in this series and I would recommmend that they all should be read. I think that these books should be required reading for all high school students. They are an eye opener to the way that part of world thinks and their beliefs. The books are very well written and a fast read.
Good Read.......2006-11-07
Still a good continuation and interesting to learn about the princess's daughters. This book was very short and the stories were an extenion of what went on in the first book. The story was generally based on the prnicess's daughters and thier characters and personalities. How they develop and become different people. One is quite similar to her mother and the other takes after her aunty. It nice to see how the daughters develop into adults after reading about thier mother developing from a child into an adult.
The mother herself changes and swings from one mood to the next and the effect is shown on her as the books pogress and she realises what her weaknesses and tries to deal with them as best she can.
The daughters themselves have an easier life then their mother and one daughter Maha takes this for granted. It was nice to see the love Amani has for animals and the effect shown on her and how she learns to deals with things when she finds her uncles birds are in danger and kept in poor conditions. Also the feelings Maha develops when she witnesses her uncles Herem and the women he is holding there brings an intense and agressive side to Maha who tries her best to help these women out of the place. She is hurt to realise that things like that can happen in Saudia Arabia and in the Royal family. She with her mother try their best to get them out, but are not sucessful and give up.
However, if you take this as a update then you dont be diappointed. If read this thinking you a reading another side to the story or a different theme altogethrethen you may be diappointed.
I enjoyed it.......2006-11-02
I am greatly interested in the Middle East. This book helped me to begin that process of understanding. It is horrific what the fundamentilist's section of their religion has done to the women there.
A Necessary Follow-up.......2006-07-25
I read the first book in the "Princess" series and read this one soon after. At first, it was a bit less exciting than the first book in the trilogy, as it has far less shocking new stories and startling information about life in Saudi Arabia.
However, by the time I finished the book, I realized how important it was. While the first "Princess" book lights a fire in the reader as they feel Princess Sultana's rage with women's rights, "Princess Sultana's Daughters" demonstrates how difficult it is for anyone in Saudi Arabia to have an impact on the barbaric social norms. It is not merely an update on Princess Sultana's life, as she raises 3 teenagers, but rather it is an update on the fight for women's rights in Saudi Arabia. There are several stories of not only women, but also men, in the royal family who want to change many of the social customs that have been so long accepted; yet when they try to reason with authority, rebel against it, or even flee the country, they are most often met with a force greater than themselves, and horrifying consequences. Thus, they are often driven to accept the ways of the culture and keep their mouths shut as they grow old behind the veil.
In short, "Princess Sultana's Daughters" makes you realize that the battle is much harder and the future more grim than the first book would have you beleive. Sadly, it delivers a large dose of reality and a small amount of hope.
Followup.......2006-07-12
This book was filled with a lot of depressing stories, albeit, they were told well and interesting, but they were depressing. However, if you liked the first Princess book, there is no doubt that you'll enjoy this one too.
It's not as good as the first, but it's a pretty good followup.
Book Description
A journalist reveals the disturbing realities of life in the Saudi kingdom. S audi Arabia: Land of oil, terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism, and a crucial American ally. As the only Western journalist to have extensively worked in the Saudi Kingdom, John R. Bradleyis uniquely able to expose the turmoil that is shaking the House of Saud to its foundations. From the heart of the secretive Islamic kingdom's urban centers to its most remote mountainous terrain, from the homes of royalty to the slums of its poorest inhabitants, he provides intimate details and reveals underlying regional, religious, and tribal rivalries. Bradley highlights tensions generated by social change, focuses on the educational system, the increasing restlessness of Saudi youth faced with limited opportunities for cultural and political expression, and the predicament of Saudi women seeking opportunities but facing constraints. What are the implications for the Sauds and the West? This book offers a startling look at the present predicament and a troubling view of the future.
Customer Reviews:
Insightful Portrayal Of The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia.......2007-06-05
Bradley is a journalist who lived and worked in Saudi Arabia for more than 2 years. This book describes what he observed, obviously from a Western perspective, while living there. Some of what he discusses has been covered in other books. For example, the strict segregation of men and women, the brutal public executions and the extreme corruption and hypocrisy of the Saudi royal family. He also mentions the poor education and professional training received by most Saudi citizens which requires the country to be dependent on foreign workers. Many of these workers are people from poor countries such as India, Pakistan and the Philippines who do the "dirty jobs" that, supposedly, Saudis don't want to do themselves. But I find this questionable since Bradley also describes the high rate of unemployment among Saudi citizens and the fact that many of them live in poverty while the Saudi royals bask in the enormous wealth generated by the oil business.
Bradley also talks about the good qualities of the typical Saudi person, such as kindness, hospitality and generosity. There are certain Western right-wingers and Christian zealots who have an anti-Muslim agenda and are clearly biased in their writings. But Bradley doesn't strike me as that sort of person. I think he is simply trying to explain his experiences in Saudi Arabia with as much honesty and truth as possible. Of course, he is seeing the country from the point of view of a non-Muslim Westerner. But that doesn't mean he is necessarily wrong in what he is saying.
However, what really takes this book to the "5 stars" level for me is that he elaborates on the regionally based political and cultural differences in the kingdom. He talks about the Hijaz area, including Jeddah, as having a long history as an international center of trade which makes it somewhat more liberal and sophisticated than the rest of the country. The southern region is called Asir and includes people who, in many ways, have more in common with the neighboring country of Yemen than with their fellow Saudis. Finally, there is the Eastern province which is largely made up of Shiite Muslims who, like the people from Hijaz and Asir, often finds themselves at odds with the Wahhabi dominated central region which includes the royal family and the Wahhabi religious establishment that controls the country politically. In other words, Saudi Arabia is a complex and diverse society with people from a variety of religious and cultural perspectives who are seeking to challenge the hold on power by the Wahhabis and the royal family. This is not the picture provided to the broader American public, who tend to recognize that the royals are corrupt but still see them as the lesser of two evils when compared to the Osama allied extremists. Obviously, the situation there is more complicated than most people think.
I actually came away feeling at least a little more optimistic about the future, or at least the potential, of the country. But, of course, Saudi Arabia still faces a tremendous amount of problems and what happens there will continue to be of vital importance to the rest of us, especially considering that the Saudis have 1/4 of the world's known supply of petroleum.
A little bias detected.......2007-06-03
This was the fourth book that I read about Saudi Arabia and although I thought the descriptives were very good in that Bradley goes into some depth that other authors may consider too trivial (i.e. Najran and Flower Men), the author clearly takes hold of the arab militancy with a one track mind. This was the first post-911 book I read about the Kingdom and I was curious to find out what has changed, and all I found was a loud-echo of anti-Wahhabism and the outcry of abused Asian workers. I understand very well that K.S.A. has many issues in that area, but I also know many families who treat their workers well. I'm always leary of books that incite anger in me as I read, and this certainly made me angry and defensive toward the Kingdom when I have already met so many wonderful Saudis who give me an entirely different perspective. A fuel on the American bias fire, but worth reading if but for the descriptives of Shiite history in the Kingdom.
Try Again.......2007-05-23
really needs to try again here I was in the kingdom the same time as this man and have read his account, but cannot agree, one thing to put straight here is that the mention of a Keith Birmingham as an engineer is incorrect he was a welder for Saudi Arabian Airlines at the engine overhaul centre in Jeddah. Perhaps had John really spent time out and about in the rest of Saudi and met the those who you can say are not the city folk could probably had a very good book but this account is far from complete
Tipical Orientalist.......2007-05-17
I GREW UP IN A MIDDLE CLASS SAUDI FAMILY AND READ THE WHOLE BOOK.
John R. Bradley goes to Saudi Arabia for 2 ½ years, befriends upper class kids and some liberal journalists then thinks he figured out the whole country. These are some things you should know before you read the book:
-When a teenage boy has a satellite in his room he is rich even in Saudi Arabia. Same thing goes for students who hire a Briton to teach them English and for kids with fluent English.
-Average Saudis will not talk to foreigners especially not westerners.
-The book was written in June 2005 and Saudi Arabia is rapidly changing (for better or worse)
-This was before the new king came to power.
-The people he speaks of are not representative sample of the Saudi society(mostly pro-American liberal)
-Any other orientalist could not have done a better job of an inside view of Saudi Arabia through a westerner's eyes.
Insightful look at an understudied country.......2007-04-05
This is an informative book for those wishing to gain a better understanding of the political and social situation in contemporary Saudi Arabia. The author was apparently one of the few Western journalists in the country in the early 2000s and he was able to obtain a visa that allowed him to travel around the country and speak with people without facing many of the restrictions that apply to most Westerners in the country. The author discusses a number of subjects. I thought that the two most interesting chapters were the ones dealing with Saudi youth and gender relations, respectively. He also writes about the rise of crime, attacks against Western expatriates, and, of course, the royal family, among other subjects. The author traveled outside of Riyadh, the capital, to many different regions. One of the main themes of the book is that the tensions between various regions within the country, many of which are inhabited by distinct tribal and ethnic groups, pose perhaps the greatest threat to the country's unity. Perhaps the one thing that I found frustrating was that, at times, it seemed like the text was devoid of Saudi voices. While the author obviously made a great many friends and professional contacts in the country, I kind of wish that he would have presented more of their viewpoints. He often seems too eager to convey his own impressions and opinions of Saudi Arabia rather than let the country's citizens speak for themselves. Luckily, this isn't as problematic as it could have been, because his opinions are generally very insightful and well-argued. Overall, as someone with very little knowledge of Saudi Arabia (and the Middle East in general), I found this book to be a highly informative analysis of some of the major tensions and problems facing this country that has been so often discussed and misunderstood in the Western media.
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Books Index
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General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Princess Sultana's Daughters
Princess Sultana's Circle (Princess Trilogy)
Mayada, Daughter of Iraq: One Woman's Survival Under Saddam Hussein
Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia
MY FORBIDDEN FACE: GROWING UP UNDER THE TALIBAN: A YOUNG WOMAN'S STORY
