The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century

by Steve Coll

Book Overview

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning and bestselling author of Ghost Wars and The Achilles Trap "Riveting . . . The most psychologically detailed portrait of the brutal 9/11 mastermind yet." - Michiko... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1594201641
• ISBN13: 9781594201646
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Penguin Press
• Length: 688 Pages
• Weight: 2.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.5" x 9.6"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Enjoyable and eyeopening

I had read Steve Coll's Ghost Wars and thought it was a masterpiece. This book is equally good. This is a rare look inside Saudi Arabia and how oil has created a peculiar class of wealthy families there. Coll shows is the culture in which Osama Bin Laden grew up but also the idiosyncracies of oil-rich wealthy Saudis.

An excellent journalist...

... is Steve Coll. I've experienced the shortcomings of the other kind, and duly criticized them. So it is all the more important to recognize and praise a job very well done. Coll conducted voluminous and meticulous research. He interviewed not only members of the Bin Laden family, but their Arab and Western associates. He put "shoe leather to the pavement," traveling as far as the Bin Laden's ancestral home in the Haudramaut, in the Yemen, even noting that Freya Stark had been there before him, in the `30's. He also researched the public records of divorce cases involving the Bin Laden's, as well as their public financial transactions, concerning houses and companies. As must still be urged of all students in journalism school, he would seek out at least two sources to confirm an event. If he couldn't find them, he'd attribute the story to one person, usually identified. Mainly, he eschewed speculation. Simple principles of good journalism, coupled with much hard work, focused on one of the more compelling families of our age. I shuttered when I saw the book's length--almost 600 pages. This is a LOT more than I think I will ever need to know. But I was wrong, for among other reasons, it is a book about much more than this one family. I realized that Coll emulated another great journalist, Neil Sheehan, who told the story of the Vietnam War through a principal actor, John Paul Vann. Like Sheehan's book, "A Bright Shining Lie," Coll's is immensely readable; he could have easily gone on for another 400 pages. The book is written for Americans, and part of his skill is to find an American analogy to explain an Arabian event / concept. Consider: "The attitude toward Bin Laden among even a poor but proud Nejdi tribal family, to say nothing of the Al-Saud royal family, was akin to that which a 1950s-era WASP banker executive in New England might hold toward a dark-skinned, grade-school-educated entrepreneurial Sicilian who built his lakeside summer cottage--charming fellow, but keep him away from the girls." (p57). Or, in speaking of the Arab "warriors" who flocked to "jihad" in Afghanistan in the `80's: "Their commitment to the Afghans resembled that of American students who spend a few days a year hammering houses together for the poor. They might be moved by altruism, but they also sought a touch of cool." (p254). Coll leavens his journalistic writing style with a droll wit: "Richard Nixon, better qualified than some world leaders to recognize a man with paranoid and anti-Semitic tendencies..." (p156). The author delivered on the book's title. He renders believable portraits on the major and minor characters in the family, starting with the founder of the modern dynasty, Mohammad, who was forced to emigrate from the Yemen in the `30's, perhaps passing Freya in the process. He lost an eye on his first job, and was so poor when he arrived in Jeddah that he slept in a ditch. Although Coll does not specifically make the "Horatio Alger" comparis

Want to know about the Bin Laden family? Read this!

When one thinks of Bin Laden, of course, one thinks of Osama, Al Qaeda, and 9-11. However, this book looks at a fascinating family history, with Osama Bin Laden as only one small part of the larger familial tapestry. A genealogy at the front of the book helps to identify the family's background, from Ali (circa 1820) to Aboud, to Awadh (born around 1875) to Mohamed (born around 1905) and Abdullah, brothers who came to bring the family wealth and recognition. Finally, the 54 children of Mohamed Bin Laden, born in the time frame from the mid-1940s through 1967. Mohamed and his brother grew up in Yemen, in poor circumstances. They suffered bad luck. Finally, they moved to Saudi Arabia and began to become more successful. Mohamed, especially, was the brother with more drive, and the story of the family takes off with the depiction of his worming his way into the royal family's graces by his hard work and willingness to do as he was bid. A "rags to riches" story. . . . The family Saud is, obviously, the central power in a country bearing the family's name (how often does that happen!?). And that family's history is intertwined with Mohamed's family. This part of the story begins with Abdulaziz Ibn Saud. After working his way upward, Mohamed had the good fortune of beginning to do projects for the royal family. What he did not know about construction, he learned or he hired people who did know what to do. Over time, he became the "go to" person for construction (whether for palaces, or roads, or. . . .) in Saudi Arabia. The quality of his work was sometimes open to question, but his willingness to do whatever the royal family wanted served him well. But enough of a simple chronology. The book looks at the evolving views of the royal family and the development of Bin Laden's "empire." The story is also filled with tragedy--both Mohamed and perhaps his most promising son, Salem, were killed in air crashes. Osama moved on to a very different life, which is discussed pretty well here. From American support for his work against the Soviet Union to enemy of the United States. . . . An interesting tale here. Anyway, for readers interested in the Bin Laden family, this represents a very solid piece of work. Research seems done well. Many readers will doubtless come away from this book with a different view of our Saudi "friends."

Coll answers questions I did not know I had

What a tale. Except it is all true. Whereas Mike Moore threw out facts without much context, Coll provides well-researched history and explanations, making our weird relationship with The House of Saud that much more clear. And Murky. The Bin Laden Family is far more complex and interesting than I would have thought possible, and as alien and strange, when compared to western society, as you could imagine. This is an important book, one that provide the curious with information, background, and a glimmer of understanding as to how Osama became who he was, and how his family life, Muslim marital and divorce practices, and the strange, complex, and bizarre entity we know as the Bin Laden family came to be. The only thing worse than learning how US policies led to 9/11 is seeing how we have coddled and knowingly supported one of the most corrupt family dictatorships in the world - the Sauds. Eye-opening, fascinating and hard to put down. I highly recommend this book.

Superbly researched and interesting book - Highly recommended

I enjoyed this book a lot - It's a fascinating history of a family's rise from nothing to high influence in Saudi Arabia. Steve Coll and his team have researched this very well and provide a high resolution story of the Bin Laden family. By their close association to the Royal Family, we find out about the secretive ways in which decisions are/were made. The middle east is a vastly different place from any other on earth - here's a great insight into a very different culture. If you're into the history of interesting places that influence your every day life, this will not disappoint. Not sure why a previous reviewer felt compelled to review his life in Saudi instead of the book, but for sure the book is more interesting than his life.