Rating: 
Summary: A must read for anyone interested in women's rights
Review: I was astounded with what I learned after reading this book and the sequel, Princess Sultana's Daughters. I had knowledge of how women were treated in the Middle East, but even I was shocked. I have spent some time in Iraq and Kuwait and can attest to the truth of some of Sultana's stories. Further, I find it hard to believe, as many of the reviewers insist, that this book is untrue. Why would Sultana exaggerate or lie if she knows her punishment will be harsh. At least with writing the truth and putting her life on the line she will know that if she is exposed, she will have given much needed human rights attention to the plight of the women of her country. And finally, I don't think Sultana is trying to malign Islam, just the misapplication of it in Saudi Arabia. So if you don't like the book, that is your opinion, but enough of trying to pretend that everything in the book is a figment of a Princess's overactive imagination. It takes courage to write such a book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book, puts the world in prospective.
Review: This is an excellent book that puts the reality of the world and its never ending cruelty into proper prospective. It shows how women are treated in the Arabic region and that it would take generations for women to work their way up to "second class citizen." They are treated about the same as animals. One reviewer (the peditrician from Texas) stated it is the culture and not Islam. But Islam is the CULTURE. Culture is anything that you do. Make no mistake, Islam makes women subservient to men. I think that reviewer was mixing American Islam and and the real shiite muslims. It might be difficult to feel sorry for a woman in financial privlige but what is the point if at any moment you could be beaten or all of it taken away. If you live every moment in fear, no dollar amount would ever make up for that. This book will open your eyes up as to how the real world works. Its about culture, religion, human rights and suffering. Read this book if you can.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best Books I have ever Read!
Review: This book, is truly a book that no matter how many times you have read it you still have the same passion and the same reluctant feeling you had the first time. This book is about A Neice of the King as she speaks of the unbrutal justice that has lied upon her and her sisters and cousins, there only sin to be born as females. What kind of unjustice is this? This books further speaks about the lavishing lives the Royal Familes the "Al-Sau'd's" live in. With Millioins of Dollars to spend and Ten's of Hundereds of Palaces to be build and the only thing needed to be done is to say what they wanted and there word would be law (The Men of the Family Ofcourse) . Though I have read uncountable numbers of books this has a very special place in my heart.
Rating:
Summary: Thought-provoking
Review: I find it hard to accept some of the opinions that have been made in a few of the reviews about "Princess" over its legitimacy. The harsh prejudices in Saudi Arabia,against women and in favour of men are clearly evident not only in this book but in many other sources we see on the television and read about. Anyone who fails to realise this injustly but very true fact are blatently oblivious and arrogate to the extreme inequality that faces Saudi women, whether a princess or not. In my opinion "Princess" is not one of the best pieces of literature ever written but it is certainly thought-provoking and the most inspiring book I have ever read. I think both Jean Sassoon and Sultana are extremely brave and determined people to have composed and written the book.
Rating:
Summary: A spot light on the corruption in Saudi Arabia.
Review: To start with I read the Arabic translation of this book when I was in Cairo last week. It was translated by "Hisham Yahia" and published in Cairo (ISBN 977-5185-24-6) Jan 1996. Now I bought the original English version to compare. I am a pediatrician who worked in Saudi Arabia for 5 years and I witnessed a whole lot of corruption and injustice there, including discrimination against women, rape of young kids by their teachers in schools, and severe violation to human rights everywhere there. Although the Arabic translation is not well written, I can say that the book is a good panoramic image of the Saudi live. This culture has nothing to do with Islam. It is meant to protect the rotten government. I witnessed myself a tragedy of an Egyptian family whose young child was raped, and because the criminal was a VIP. The father of the child was humiliated and "lashed" in public, as a punishment because he dared to file a complaint. I personally recommend this book to the American reader, and I hope many other books about the miserable live in Saudi Arabia would be available. When you read this book please keep in mind that all this corruption and injustice do not belong to Islam the great religion that is victimized there. Perhaps USA would change its policy, and start seriously to pay attention to the human rights in this country.Friday, August 27, 1999
Rating: 
Summary: Tragic Story
Review: Although the story told is a sobering one, its hard to feel sympathy for a woman who regularly wakes up at noon, has servants at her beck and call to care for her and her children, travels on a whim, spends thousands of dollars without thinking twice and then complains that she leads a repressed life. Sounds more like whining than constructive criticism. Its really the stories of women like Sultana's older sister and the young woman condemned to a dark room for the rest of her life that shock and upset you. I now wonder how the "other half" lives in Saudi Arabia, what is the fate of women that don't have the financial means Sultana has?
Rating: 
Summary: Response to my readers
Review: After growing up poor in a tiny Southern town, I feel like the luckiest person alive to have travled the world, and met lovely people from so many countries. The Middle East & Asia have been my main areas of travel, and like the rest of this good earth, including my own USA, I found negatives and positives in every culture. But, I also made the happy discovery that most people are genuinely kind hearted and most of us want the same out of life: comfort of life and respectful treatment from friends and relatives. (Speaking of lovely folks: To those that might be interested, I traveled to Iraq last summer, and spent two weeks in that country. Believe it or not, never have I met any nicer people than the ordinary Iraqi. I was forced to rethink my former conclusions! What an adventure I had--particularly after writing "The Rape of Kuwait!" But, that's another book and I'm getting ahead of myself. Sorry!) Certainly, during my twelve years of living and working in Saudi Arabia, I was fortunate to meet many lovely Saudi citizens, and yes, many kind men who treated their own women with respect. However, despite this, none of these more privileged women could drive an automobile, work in the company of men, attend the same schools as men, or travel outside their home without the veil over their face. Such is not a life anyone would purposely seek, no matter what anyone might claim. As a Western woman, I was treated very differently than native women. I can only think of one or two unpleasant episodes during that time, and believe me, only two incidents in twelve years is nothing that I can complain about. So, please remember, the books about "Sultana" are not my own personal story, and I could not infringe on the truths of a native woman with my own positive experiences. (I am in the process of writing about my personal experiences in the Middle East, and it will surprise many people!) And to those who find it so difficult to believe that women are still horribly mistreated in many parts of the world, don't take my word for it, why don't you read newspapers, magazines, and findings of human rights groups, such as Amnesty International & Equality Now? Their findings are much in the same vein as the stories you will read about in my book, and surely, no one can claim those organizations are biased! (And, there are other well-written books about women which share many common findings with my own work, and I highly recommend readers buy and read those books: Price of Honor, and Nine Parts of Desire, come to mind). And, what is happening with the Taliban and their women, even as I am writing this response, shows us that life can be much worse for many of the world's women than any of us could ever imagine. I just returned from a book tour in Europe and at one of my book signings, I was happy to see four or five Saudi female faces in the audience. While speaking, I inquired if they were Saudi, and every one said "no". (I have found that many Saudi people are quite shy when in the public eye, although they can be very different in private.) However, when my talk was over, and people filed by to get signed books, three of the women whispered to me that they were indeed Saudi, and although they could never come out publicly, they were so pleased that the world was taking note of their situation. Two of them passed me their phone numbers and I was sad to hear from these women that the public situation for women in Saudi Arabia has become much more severe, with the government more fearful of radical religious groups and unwilling to hold these fierce men in line, although female individual lives lived in private homes are more relaxed since many of their men have become more enlightened about women's issues. When I first wrote the book Princess, "Sultana" nor I could have ever dreamed that her story would travel around the world, (50 different editions!)and find so many interested readers. And "yes" to the question I am asked most frequently, I have been harassed, lied about, and attacked in more ways than one for writing Sultana's story, but I have no regrets. And, I thank you all for caring... (At least to those that care! If you don't care, then maybe you should care! The way I chose to tell "Sultana's" story so that the reader has a quick and enjoyable read while discovering many hidden "facts" about her country & culture shouldn't be a point of concern--afterall, who is going to read a dull, dry read, and writing is too hard to write for myself only!) The story of women fighting for personal freedoms is what is most important. So now, I'm leaving to go and tackle my next project. You'll hear about it next year. Wish me luck! Hey, and a sincere wish for a happy life to you all! Jean
Rating: 
Summary: A Little Too Stereotypical!
Review: Overall the novel holds your attention and you want to know more as the story progresses thus you feel as if you cannot put the book down. Therefore it could be said to be an entertaining novel and provides an insight into human rights. However one problem with this book is that there is hardly anything positive written about the islamic world which makes one think that it is a little biased and therefore the information presented is not trustable. Every religion has its positive and negative sides. This book totally focuses on the negative aspects of the Saudi Arabian world. I understand that SOME saudi men might be cruel but there might be some who are more from the modern world and respect women's rights. I would say that one should just read it, contemplate a little about womens rights in the world but then try not to base Saudi Arabia by this book! In other words try not to stereotype people!
Rating:
Summary: intriguing true story of a very corageous woman
Review: I found this book to be one of the most shocking stories I've ever heard. It opened my eyes to to a world of oppression I didn't even know existed. I'd love to contact Jean Sasson. If anyone has any contact information, please email me.
Rating:
Summary: Shocking! Couldn't Put It Down.
Review: This book was shocking in the fact that I didn't realize that things like this still happen in current times. Reading this book and the treatment of some of these women, I had to keep reminding myself that these are current events and not something form 50 years ago! I know that in Islam beliefs are different and I can respect that as I have studied Islam, however many of the situations described in this book could hardly be accepted by those that have studied the Koran. I can hardly wait to read the sequel!
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