Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia by Jean Sasson

Sultana (not her real name) is a member of the royal family in Saudi Arabia. This is the horror of her “privileged” life and the lives of women in a country that our U.S. government calls friend. How fathers can treat their daughters this way escapes me. That my government can claim friendship with a country that treats its women this way infuriates me--executions for perceived wrongs, purdah (solitary confinement for the rest of a woman’s or girl’s life), arranged marriages to abusive husbands, allowing men and boys to rape young girls and women then stoning these women to death. Sultana’s constant battles against her trivialization as a human being simply because she is a female are beyond frustrating. I wonder how she continues to fight. Or has she given up? Four out of four bookworms.

Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia by Carmen Bin Ladin

How does an intelligent, Western woman find herself married to a man who abhors her intelligence and Western ways? Carmen Bin Ladin tells us how she met, fell in love with, and married Islamic fundamentalist Yeslam Bin Ladin, Osama Bin Ladin’s brother. We see her try (and fail) to adapt to life as a Saudi woman. We learn why Saudi Arabia is such a threat to the United States. When you finish this book, you may wonder why President Bush attacked Iraq as opposed to Saudi Arabia. Carmen lived with the Bin Ladin clan, making her insight into Saudi Arabia fascinating as well as educational. Four out of four bookworms.

Mayada: Daughter of Iraq: One Woman’s Survival Under Saddam Hussein by Jean Sasson

Jean Sasson writes revealing accounts of women’s lives in the Middle East. This factual story of Mayada Al-Askari, a member of a prominent Iraqi family will convince you that Saddam Hussein was pure evil. It will also leave questions in your mind about whether Saddam Hussein was indeed involved with Osama Bin Ladin and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Mayada attracts Saddam’s attention as a journalist. What begins as Saddam’s favorable interest in her journalistic skills becomes imprisonment and torture on his orders. The stories of the women with whom she shares a cell are as compelling as her own. Four out of four bookworms.

Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life, by Queen Noor

Imagine growing up in a fairly typical, albeit wealthy, American family, then falling in love with and marrying a king. Not the King of Monaco, but the King of Jordan. Sound like a work of fiction? A fairy tale, maybe? This is Queen Noor’s life. Her autobiography gives us an insider’s view of Middle Eastern politics, government, culture, and religion from the perspective of a woman born and raised in the United States. It is also a love story—between a woman and a man, and a woman and her adopted country. Queen Noor’s autobiography reads like a novel, compelling to the end. Four out of four bookworms.