Growing Up bin Laden

Osama's Wife and Son Take Us Inside Their Secret World

By: Jean Sasson, Najwa bin Laden, Omar bin Laden

Narrated by: Mel Foster

"I was not always the wife of Osama bin Laden. Once I was an innocent child dreaming little girl dreams."

Thus begins this powerful story by Najwa bin Laden, who married her cousin Osama bin Laden at the age of 15 to become his first wife and the mother to 11 of his children, and her son, Omar bin Laden, the fourth-born son of Osama bin Laden. Together, mother and son tell an extraordinarily powerful story of a man hated by so many yet both loved and feared by his family, with spine-tingling details about the life and times of the man they knew as a husband and father, including:

Osama's disapproval of modern conveniences, including electricity and medicine

His plan to toughen up his sons by taking them into the desert without food or water

Transporting his wives and children to the rough terrain of Sudan, where he claimed to be preparing them for attacks from Western powers, commanding them to dig holes and to sleep in those holes, allowing nothing more than sand and twigs for cover

Omar's horror at the rape and murder of a boy his own age by members of a jihadist group living among them in the Sudan

What happened in the bin Laden home in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on the morning of September 11, 2001, and Omar's surprise phone call with his mother, who escaped from Afghanistan only two days before the shattering events that killed so many innocent people

Since September 11, 2001, journalists have struggled to uncover carefully guarded information about Osama's private life. Until now, Osama bin Laden's family members have not cooperated with any writers or journalists. Now, with unprecedented access and insight, Jean Sasson, author of the best-selling Princess: A True Story Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia, takes us inside the secret world of Osama bin Laden.

©2009 Jean Sasson (P)2009 Tantor

A must read

A fascinating account I could not stop listening. Brilliantly narrated the stories of Najwa and Omar are heartbreaking and insightful.

Very interesting book

It’s amazing how all the pieces of the puzzle fit. One missing piece would have stopped the next tragedy but that clearly didn’t happen. It’s a book that explains most of the information we already new. I have always believed Americans played a part in how this tragedy unfolded. Look at American Foreign policy during the decades before and after 911, they did play a part in all of this.

Najwa left Afghanistan on September 9th and that is a really important date in Afghanistan. This is the day al Qaeda carried out the attack on the Northern alliance leader Ahmad shah Massoud. He was practically the only resistance left in Afghanistan against the Taliban and a force that would have assisted the Americans. Did his assassination play a part in her decision to leave? He also warned the world that something big is happening in Afghanistan and people need to pay attention but was ignored.

eye opening!

very insightful review of the most dangerous man in the world and his family

True grit and painful to hear

It must have been painful to write this book- it details one man's descent into extremist madness and the horrific toll it took on his wives and children. This book is a great read and gives some insight into a culture so different from our own; where husbands are king and wives and children are subjugated and raised according to the father's whims and beliefs. Thank God for America, I wouldn't last very long over there.....!

Very amazing, stunning, and interesting

I'm sure every US citizen is curious about Osama's family. Very well written and portrayed.