Product Description
Osama bin Laden's formersister-in-law provides a penetrating, unusually inti- mate look into Saudi soci-ety and the bin Laden family's role within it, aswell as the treatment of Saudi women.On September 11th, 2001,Carmen bin Ladin heard the news that the Twin Towers had been struck. She instinctively knew that her ex-brother-in-law was involved in these hor-rifying acts of terrorism, and her heart went out to America. She also knew that her life and the lives of her family would never be the same again.Carmen bin Ladin, half Swiss and half Persian, married into-and later divorced from-the bin Laden family and found herself inside a complex and vast clan, part of a society that she neither knew nor understood. Her story takes us inside the bin Laden family and one of the most powerful, secretive, and repressed kingdoms in the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (120)

Good read, very thought provoking
I really liked this book, the insight into Saudi Arabian culture and thought was very eye opening. To be a woman, (equal to an animal) in that society is horrendous. What God would create a human being (woman) for the sole purposes of sexual gratification for a man, breeding sons,and cooking? Only a god concocted by sick, selfish men.I would prefer not to have been born than live the life of a female in the middle east. I wish Carmen had not stayed in that marriage for 14 years and I question her reasons on that. I am only happy that she got out in time to save her girls and herself from the many horrible scenarios that could have happened to them, with government and family sanctions!

An extraordinary account of the life of women in Saudi Arabia
Carmen bin Laden gives an account of the life she lived in Saudi Arabia when she married Yaslam bin Laden, the half-brother of Osama. This book goes to the heart of what it means to be a woman in Saudi society: according to her account, it is a life of imprisonment. Women are denied basic rights, such as the right to think independently or choose fulfilling careers. They are under the absolute rule of their husbands and are given no room for creativity, decision-making, or intellectual engagement. They are cut off from literature, philosophy, great books, and the free press. In many ways, they are seen by men as objects or property and even their husbands' servants will often refuse to take orders from them. In one account, Carmen describes an episode in which she was going to have the carpeting in her home redone. After the hired worker failed to do the job correctly, she gave him instructions. He refused to look at her and when she insisted that he obeyed his orders, he scornfully grunted, "I do not take orders from women." Only after Carmen was able to get a male member of the family to intervene did the servant come to understand that he was to obey the orders of Carmen when her husband was absent.
According to Carmen bin Laden, the rules in Saudi society are extremely burdensome and inefficient. Because women were not allowed to be seen in public during her years in Saudi Arabia, shopping was conducted by having the family's male driver go to a local store, pick up a few samples of inventory, come back to the home, have the woman select articles that she approved, and returning the unwanted items back to the store. When none of the items brought to the woman were satisfactory, several trips conducted in his manner were often necessary. In one account, she had her driver go back and forth several times to bring home Similac for her baby. After several unsuccessful trips, she decided to go out on her own to procure the formula. When she arrived at the store, however, it had to be completely evacuated before she could enter, lest a woman, even one fully covered up behind an abaya, be seen by a man.
The book is extremely well written and engaging. Carmen bin Laden has succeeded in presenting to the reader the tensions experienced when a woman raised with the freedoms of the West is immersed in the restrictive culture of Saudi society.

Amazing book
This book was great. I was not an avid reader and get bored and distracted quite easily and this book kept me very entertained and I was able to finish it quickly. If you want a book to get you interested and back into reading this book is great. I think it is an interesting book that truly does give everyone a rare glimpse into a life that is very secretive and protected. A MUST READ!!!!

Excellent Read.
This book was an excellent and quick read.Carmen is an incredible woman with amazing strength from what she endures.

Inside the Kingdom- My Life in Saudia Arabia
Marvelous book. Very sincere and touching and revealing. We are lucky to be living in America with all our freedoms ... Read more

Product Description

For the last 60 years, Saudi Arabia has assumed a vital economic role and has been situated on the center stage of the global economic and political scene. While the market was once dominated by American and British firms, and later Japanese corporations, Korean and Chinese companies have now aggressively entered the market and have posed serious challenges to entrenched multinational corporations. The Saudi market has newly become an arena for unbridled competition. As companies must adapt and embark on creative means to sustain their positions in dynamic markets, multinational corporations must also find a comprehensive approach to dealing with cultural and political developments. Having a competitive edge demands familiarity with market nuances and peculiarities in addition to providing quality product and service.

Business and Management Environment in Saudi Arabia is not primarily about how to conduct business in the region, but rather it provides insightful information to optimally guide western managers in conducting their operations in Saudi Arabia. The book offers essential information to engage effectively, manage business activities, resolve cultural understandings, and tackle appropriate issues of group dynamics, human resource management, managing change, and development and relations with the government and the general public. As such, it is required reading for both business leaders and academics alike.

Customer Reviews (1)

Interesting Perspective on Doing Business in Middle East
During recent years, the Middle East has become an attractive business landscape for Multinational Business Enterprises. Yet, a little or no research has been reported on Multinational Corporations which are operating in Arabia. This book provides an authentic, fresh, and comprehensive perspective on doing business in the Middle East for both professionals and academicians in the class room. The book is full of resources and information that can be a great source of help in this regard. ... Read more

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A Californian paramedic answers an advertisement for contract work at a military hospital in Saudi Arabia. So his adventure begins. This is a riveting, factual account of his ten years inside a country seldom seen by the outside world. Working on the private medical staff of King Abdullah, no western writer has ever been this close to the "House of Saud". The author takes you on a journey from the desert camps of the Bedouin to the highest echelons of the Saudi royal family. From meetings between King Abdullah and Yasser Arafat to the death of Edi Amin the author documents it all. Themes explored include the contrast of cultures and the rise of terrorism in a post 9/11 world. The author's unique and often humorous perspective provides a view of Saudi society that has never before been documented by any other book in this genre. The author gives an important insight to events that continue to affect the world today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

A great read!
This was a great book. I read the whole thing in three days. I'd recommend it to anyone thinking of working in Saudi Arabia. I gave me a yet another reason to be racist.

An experience worth writing about
This was my mass transit book for the last couple of weeks.Some days I would wish that my commute was a little longer or had just a couple more stops so that I could keep reading.Notestine shares his interesting experiences and insights in a format that is highly readable, funny, and sometimes shocking.When I started the book, probably for the first 40 pages or so, I was slightly the concerned that a lot of negative Saudi bashing was in store.Gradually the nature of the author's love hate relationship (probably mostly love) with the country comes out and ultimately offers what seems to be a balanced and well thought out view of the cultural, political, economic, and most importantly individual realities in Saudi Arabia. The author has experienced many aspects of Saudi life from serving the poor, the rich, and the royal as well as working closely with the Saudi, expat, and migrant communities. He is also a little quirky and has interesting adventures with baboons, falcons, alcohol, travel and a whole host of other things.

I am going to be working in Saudi Arabia this summer and felt that this was an engaging and readable primer to gain cultural insight into the country.One suggestion I have would be to add pictures to subsequent editions of the book.I would highly recommend this book to anybody.

Refreshing !An wonderful way to spend a weekend
Mr. Tom did a great job !I was bewitched by this book. Just like being around a camp fire and listening to someone's amazing memories. The tone is calm and down on earth. Simple language describing a complicated life, a trip in time. From the 1500's to the 2000's. Domestic life and public. Political life and the way people deal with two totally different concepts of living. The influence of technological progress and the tribal tradition.
Maybe the best way to describe such awareness is by quoting Mr. Tom's own words:

" In any society including my own (USA) you will find Hypocrisy, cruelty and bigotry. I think what my frutration was, is that even when the Saudis were confronted with the reality of their behavior, not only would they deny it, they would be highly offended that it was even brought up.
So in Saudi Arabia.... exists a culture of silence where uncomfortable realities are ignored, which runs against my American upbringing where we are taught it is our given right and obligation to raise our voices against social injustice "

To me the best example will be the event where an unbelieveble effort was made to train a group of Saudi for the Paramedic profession. The insane amount of money spent on them while in the US; the shocking incompetence when back home; the refusal to learn (not even to drow blood !);the total dependence on Non-Saudi personnel for everything !The idea that any outcome is the will of Allah... so-why-bother?...is hard to comprehend.
In order for me to balance such views I've got two more books on Saudi Arabia. One written by a Muslim, "In the land of invisible women" by Quanta Ahmed, a doctor. The issues are admittedly there... but there are treated in an etirely different way!

This book connect the dots between the random bits of information about the life and mentality of Saudis.

What an Adventure
From Tom's pet chimpanzee to his patients with partially chopped off heads from a sword fight, this book is a hell of a ride from start to Finnish. As a Paramedic heading over to Saudi Arabia soon for my own adventure I picked up Tom's book for work related information, but what I found was an amazing well written adventure full of incredible story's. It also provided me with how life for a Paramedic in Saudi is. I highly recommend this book for EMS workers and People heading to the middle east to work. However neither is required to enjoy reading this book. All people who just like to read an amazing true story about the journey this man takes are welcomed.

Quite an eye opener
This is a fascinating peek at life inside Saudi Arabia through the eyes of a compassionate and earnest western expatriot.

Tom Notestine is a wonderful storyteller, and I found myself on page 100 before I even looked up at the clock. His ability to describe the people and the culture absolutely sucks you in and you find yourself thinking about what he reveals and applying it to what is going on in the Middle East today. Many of the cultural and religious practices that he explains help a reader understand numerous events in today's world events.

I love reading accounts like this. I'll never live in Saudi Arabia, and chances are I won't even ever visit there. Thanks to Tom's engaging story of his own experience, I believe I have a little better understanding of what life is like there for both the common resident and members of the royal family. ... Read more

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The story is told of Paul and Colleen Nance in theirthree decades in Arabia and assembling the art collection oncontinuous display in the United States located at Lone jack,Missouri.The Nance Museum's art and artifacts are from traditionalSaudi Arabia and other Arab countries.They brought together thelargest and most diverse collection on continuous display in theUnited States, located at Lone Jack, Missouri. Included are a Bedouintent completely outfitted, the towns Arab and focus on the coffeeceremony, costumes, jewelry, wood, basketry, metal straw, natural andearly objects, original paintings and lithographs of ancient monumentsof the Middle East.Special exhibits are developed each year to focuson themes such as Hofuf and the Ancient Caravan Routes of CentralArabia, The Orientalists, Jerusalem, Saudi Children's Artwork, TheSilk Road and its Connection with the Middle East.Over a million and a half persons have seen a portion of thecollection throughout the United States.

The book describes living and working in and the importance of SaudiArabia, the development of ethnic gardens depicting earlycivilizations to give a world view to the setting of the museum, 230illustrations, the museum as a resource center, reflections over thepast fifteen years of the museum's operation as well as extensiveAppendices of chronologies, donors, guests, publicity, outreachlocations, a Glossary of Arab terms, bibliography and index. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent Book on Middle Eastern Culture
This book, written by Paul J. Nance, is one of the best reference books I have ever seen.I recently purchased the book and I find its contents and full color pictures very exciting.Whether you plan on traveling to the Middle East, or if you just want to learn about the culture, this is the book to read.

This book has several first rate accounts of Paul J. Nance's thirty two years in the Middle East.He worked for Aramco Oil Company in Saudi Arabia during this time and he acquired quite a bit of knowledge.Since his return to America he has started a collection of Middle Eastern artifacts and art.The book details many of the artifacts in his Museum, and is extremely helpful in learning about Middle Eastern culture.

This book can change the way you look at the Islamic religion.Before I looked at the book and visited the Museum of Mr. Nance I knew very little about the Arabian Penninsula. ... Read more

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A groundbreaking account of Aramco as a microcosm of the colonial order.Now newly updated, America’s Kingdom debunks the many myths that now surround the United States’s special relationship with Saudi Arabia, also known as “the deal”: oil for security. Exploding the long-established myth that the Arabian American Oil Company, Aramco, made miracles happen in the desert, Robert Vitalis shows how oil led the US government to follow the company to the kingdom, and how oil and Aramco quickly became America’s largest single overseas private enterprise. From the establishment in the 1930s of a Jim Crow system in the Dhahran oil camps, to the consolidation of America’s Kingdom under the House of Fahd, the royal faction that still rules today, this is a meticulously researched account of Aramco as a microcosm of the colonial order. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

really a history of Aramco
If you're looking for a discussion of the nature of the U.S.-Saudi political relationship, I would recommend Inside The Mirage: America's Fragile Partnership with Saudi Arabia.This book, "America's Kingdom," is really just focuses on the American influence on Aramco, and Aramco's influence on Washington.

There's another, far less excellent history of Aramco out there, from several years ago, the error-filled Oil, God, and Gold: The Story of Aramco and the Saudi Kings.

Insight into the forces that have shaped U.S. relations with the Middle East
"America's Kingdom" by Robert Vitalis is a deeply fascinating history of the U.S. in Saudi Arabia in the mid 20th century. Mr. Vitalis, who is an Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, seeks to correct the mythmaking that has obscured the real story for far too long, dedicating many years of research to this project. The result is an exacting piece of scholarship that produces remarkable insight into the forces that have shaped U.S. relations with the Middle East.

The book is divided into two parts. The first section focuses on the labor practices of ARAMCO in Saudi Arabia. Mr. Vitalis astutely compares and contrasts the industrial practices of other U.S.-based extractive industries to find that ARAMCO simply imposed upon its Saudi clients what had already been learned elsewhere: namely, to divide and conquer the local labor force; control the political process; and extract maximum profits. In this particular case, of course, Mr. Vitalis details how ARAMCO's efforts were fully supported by a U.S. government intent on pursuing its geopolitical ambitions on the world stage, in which the control of oil played no small part.

The second part tells the story of worker struggle, politics and power. Debunking the myths that had been carefully constructed by corporate public relations professionals and sympathetic government officials, Mr. Vitalis decisively shows how worker's rights were gained by popular struggle and not from enlightened corporate policies. Through Mr. Vitalis' engrossing narrative, we see how American interests came to ally itself ever more closely with the Kingdom as a means to ensuring a steady flow of oil and projecting American power into the region.

Throughout the text, the reader is introduced to a cast of sometimes colorful characters ranging from labor agitators, royalists, secret CIA operatives, Soviet double agents and more. Mr. Vitalis excels at uncovering obscure source documents that help him weave these players into the narrative and bring history to life. While there is no doubt that the overall thrust of the book is towards a high degree of historical accuracy, profound insight and professionalism, the character profiles and world-shaping events that are narrated by Mr. Vitalis result in a suprisingly readable and informative account.

I highly recommend this exceptional book to educated readers who have a keen interest in 20th century American and Middle Eastern history.

Anything written by Vitalis is thought-provoking, well-written, and just plain good
I was honored by having Bob Vitalis teach me a class while I was at the University of Pennsylvania, and was always struck by his engaging ideas and unconventional teaching style. Overcoming several obstacles to actually get the information to write this book in the first place, Vitalis has finally achieved what many would consider an impossible feat: An honest look at the history of the American-Saudi relationship. Here's to the hope that future students of his will be as inspired by his ideas as I was. ... Read more

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Considered by many scholars to be one of the best modernethnographies on Middle Eastern ethnic groups, this highly regarded,unromanticized account of Bedouin life--now updated--offers readers aclear explanation of kinship systems in nomadic societies. The authorand his family spent several years with the Rwala Bedouin of theArabian peninsula, living as they did. Lancaster's analysis focuses onRwala social organization and the way in which the Rwala manipulatetheir social environment to cope with changing conditions. Like nomadseverywhere, the Rwala are under pressure to come to terms withsedentarism and modernization; Lancaster examines the way in whichthey cope with what they see as an attack on their identity andautonomy. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Countries and Their Cultures, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 4305 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Covers the broad range of popular religious culture of the United States at the close of the twentieth century. Beliefs, practices, symbols, traditions, movements, organizations, and leaders from the many traditions in the pluralistic American community are represented. Also includes cults and phenomena that drew followers, such as Heaven's Gale and UFOs. ... Read more

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On the demand side, exporters and strategic planners focusing on human blood, prepared animal blood, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms, and similar products excluding yeasts in Saudi Arabia face a number of questions. Which countries are supplying human blood, prepared animal blood, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms, and similar products excluding yeasts to Saudi Arabia? How important is Saudi Arabia compared to others in terms of the entire global and regional market? How much do the imports of human blood, prepared animal blood, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms, and similar products excluding yeasts vary from one country of origin to another in Saudi Arabia? On the supply side, Saudi Arabia also exports human blood, prepared animal blood, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms, and similar products excluding yeasts. Which countries receive the most exports from Saudi Arabia? How are these exports concentrated across buyers? What is the value of these exports and which countries are the largest buyers?

This report was created for strategic planners, international marketing executives and import/export managers who are concerned with the market for human blood, prepared animal blood, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms, and similar products excluding yeasts in Saudi Arabia. With the globalization of this market, managers can no longer be contented with a local view. Nor can managers be contented with out-of-date statistics which appear several years after the fact. I have developed a methodology, based on macroeconomic and trade models, to estimate the market for human blood, prepared animal blood, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms, and similar products excluding yeasts for those countries serving Saudi Arabia via exports, or supplying from Saudi Arabia via imports. It does so for the current year based on a variety of key historical indicators and econometric models.

In what follows, Chapter 2 begins by summarizing where Saudi Arabia fits into the world market for imported and exported human blood, prepared animal blood, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms, and similar products excluding yeasts. The total level of imports and exports on a worldwide basis, and those for Saudi Arabia in particular, is estimated using a model which aggregates across over 150 key country markets and projects these to the current year. From there, each country represents a percent of the world market. This market is served from a number of competitive countries of origin. Based on both demand- and supply-side dynamics, market shares by country of origin are then calculated across each country market destination. These shares lead to a volume of import and export values for each country and are aggregated to regional and world totals. In doing so, we are able to obtain maximum likelihood estimates of both the value of each market and the share that Saudi Arabia is likely to receive this year. From these figures, rankings are calculated to allow managers to prioritize Saudi Arabia compared to other major country markets. In this way, all the figures provided in this report are forecasts that can be combined with internal information sources for strategic planning purposes. ... Read more

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This book is the first critical survey of modern Egyptian drama during the period of its maturity from the 1930s to the present day. A discussion of the work of Tawfiq al-Hakim is followed by an examination of the less experimental plays of his successors, Mahmud Taymur, Bakathir and Fathi Radwan. ... Read more

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At a time when the turmoil and conflict in the Middle East dominates world news, students need to develop an understanding of the people and culture of this region. This five-volume set, part of the Discovering World Cultures series, examines geographical, historical, economic, and cultural issues in 16 Middle Eastern countries. For each nation, information about people groups, natural resources and geography, economy, and religion is included. A section on everyday life considers education, leisure activities, dress, holidays, the arts, and food, including sample recipes. Tables, charts, illustrations, timelines, and fact sheets provide visual references to support the written material.

Volume 1: Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt

Volume 2: Iran, Iraq, Israel

Volume 3: Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman

Volume 4: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria

Volume 5: Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

Grades 6-8

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Saudi Aramco Residential Camp in Dhahran, casually known by its inhabitants as the Dhahran Camp, is the residential community built by Saudi Aramco for its employees. It is located within the city of Dhahran. The Dhahran residential camp is a fenced-in company compound and only Saudi Aramco employees and their dependents may live inside. It is located near the US consulate as well as the Dhahran military airbase, which is located in an area that formerly housed the domestic and international air terminals for the Eastern Province. All commercial air passenger operations have since been moved to King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! LGBTrights in Saudi Arabia are not recognized.Homosexuality and cross-dressing are widely seen asimmoral acts, and are treated as serious crimes. Inrecent decades there have been reports of anunderground LGBT community. While the kingdom hasfaced criticism from human rights organizations, itinsists that it is always acting in accordance withIslamic morality. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from New York Times Upfront, published by Scholastic, Inc. on September 22, 2008. The length of the article is 2707 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Growing up Saudi: in a strict Islamic society like Saudi Arabia, segregation of the sexes is almost total. Part 2: the girls.(INTERNATIONAL)
Author: Katherine Zoepf
Publication: New York Times Upfront (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2008
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Volume: 141Issue: 2Page: 8(6)

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

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It is with great pride and pleasure that we are able to share with the American public the beautiful and superbly crafted artifacts presented in this exhibition. The spectacular array of costumes seen in this collection reveals but one aspect of Saudi Arabia's rich cultural heritage. ... Read more