The Bin Ladens
Oil, Money, Terrorism and the Secret Saudi World
Published on 5. March 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
704 pages
978-0-14-103648-9 (ISBN)
Description
The Bin Ladens are shrouded in secrecy, living in one of the most closed, unaccountable countries on earth. Little has been known about the world that created Osama - until now.
In this gripping account prizewinning journalist Steve Coll has interviewed those closest to the family who rose from Yemeni peasants to jetsetting millionaires in two generations. In doing so, he reveals a Saudi Arabia torn between religious purity and the temptations of the West, telling a story of oil, money, power, patronage and dangerous cultural extremes.
In this gripping account prizewinning journalist Steve Coll has interviewed those closest to the family who rose from Yemeni peasants to jetsetting millionaires in two generations. In doing so, he reveals a Saudi Arabia torn between religious purity and the temptations of the West, telling a story of oil, money, power, patronage and dangerous cultural extremes.
Reviews / Votes
'Enthralling ! explains a great deal about the tentacles that run from Riyadh to touch a wider world, tentacles of corruption, ambition, hedonism and dislocation ! a classic saga' Observer 'A rich and fluent portrait of a family and a country and of their deeply conflicted relationship with America' Economist 'Grippingly told ! ought to be read by anyone who really wants to understand the origins of the current crisis' Los Angeles TimesMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
16 pp b/w illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
482 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-14-103648-9 (9780141036489)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
03/2009
1st Edition
Penguin Books Ltd
€11.99
Available for download
Person
Steve Coll is most recently the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller Ghost Wars. He also won a 1990 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism. He covered Afghanistan as the Washington Post's South Asia bureau chief between 1989 and 1992 and was the Post's managing editor from 1998 to 2004. He is now a staff writer for the New Yorker. He is the author of five books, including On the Grand Trunk Road and The Taking of Getty Oil. He lives with his wife and three children in Maryland.