Rating: 
Summary: Very interesting
Review: If the stories Sasson recounts are genuine, then this book should be required reading by anyone even mildly concerned with the rights of women ... or even people. The treatment of the women around Princess Sultana is appalling and horrifying at best. What's even more frightening is that the women involved are mostly of the royal family, and Sultana even declares that non-royals and non-Saudis have it even worse. The book itself is a very easy read, the "characters" become touchably real within moments of the first introduction, and the pacing never lets up. If you're interested in the later books about Sultana, this book is required reading to properly understand why Sultana becomes the woman she does. Her motivations for later activities are buried in her personality quirks (revealed during childhood). Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: An unveiled reality
Review: Sultana, a woman born into the Saudi Royal family, let us know how is the life of women in Saudi Arabia. Since early age, she had to suffer the consequence of being a female member of an extended family in an almost misogynistic environment where her father and her only brother have rights and where her mother and her sisters have none living in complete cautivity and submission. From the pages of this book, another Saudi Arabia take life, a society where women are relegated to a low lever even lower than the male servants of the house, where being an obedient wife and a fertile mother are the only things that matter. A "way of life" that Princess Sultana disliked and this book is the zenith of her rebellion, this is as far as she could go.
Rating:
Summary: Simply the Best...
Review: Read every book there is written about women in Saudi Arabia, or in the Middle East, and your thoughts will come back to Princess Sultana every time. This book is simply the best. Once you read it, you will be haunted. I read it straight through and then sat up nights thinking about what I might do. A Princess, an oil rich kingdom, difficult times, victories in life... What true life drama!
Rating:
Summary: Must Read!
Review: I MADE my 20 year old daughter read this book. I wanted her to realize, like I do, how fortunate we are to have been born in the West! I will NEVER, EVER take my freedoms for granted. It was hard to believe most of what we read, so we asked a couple friends who lived in Saudi for a few years how true it sounded. They verified that it was "so very typical"! Even if only 25% of what we read is true, it is still unbelievable. Every woman should read this book and thank God for being born free!
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling read
Review: I became absorbed in this book and read it in two days. It is fascinating to read about the cultural norms in Saudi Arabia. It is also haunting to read about the malevolence that many of the characters feel toward the U.S. given that this book was written well before 9/11 (written '96 I think). Although the book is supposedly non-fiction I cannot believe it to be a true account of one woman's life (I'm not the only reader to have such doubts). However, it did seem that the author tried to convey the patriarchal society of Saudi Arabia in a true light.
Rating:
Summary: Overwhelming Truth and Insight
Review: As an American Muslim woman who once lived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, I became overwhelmed by Sultana's compelling account. As a Muslim, I appreciated her explicit reminder that the transgressions of the Saudi men depicted in the work did not represent Islam. Rather, their misinterpretation of the Quran and Haddith led them to oppress the women of their country, not their true and accurate following of our religion. As one who has worn the abaaya and the veil, and who has met countless women trapped in polygamy in Saudi Arabia and in the United States, I can relate to her experience. Yet, as I was fortunate to be an American in Saudi Arabia, I often did not have to deal firsthand with the cultural oppression of Saudi men; however, I feel that her plight and those of our Muslim sisters is my own. Although Sultana comes from the wealthiest of Saudi families, she accurately and adequately represents the lives of most Saudi women, regardless of socioeconomic status. Her story is real and true; she did not exaggerate or stretch the truth. This work deservedly holds a position as one of the top 500 books for and about women, and should be read by everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Read This Book!
Review: After living most of my life in the Middle East I already knew much of the culture that is explained in this book. Arabic friends of mine had gone through circumcision, were married to men they hadn't met before their wedding day and women whose relationship with their father had been indifferent. Another English friend was torn apart when her Arabic husband married another woman.
I was very fortunate that some people had opened up to me because mostly, these scandals would go on behind the closed door. Where I lived, it was very Westernised and so not nearly as bad as the situation of Saudi Arabia but still beneath the surface there were traces of the male dominance that will forever be apart of that way of life.
I am telling you this so that will see that much of this book is truly based on fact, even through it seems to horrible to believe. The author has not tried to exaggerate her life in order to make her story more readable. You just have to live in a muslim country to know that these things do go on. But the governments of the countries do nothing about it because thay beleive that the koran says that it is within the rights of a man to dicipline his wife/daughter, even if it means killing her to wash away the shame she has put onto the family. A daughter or a wife is a posession.
Sultana, the subject of the novel, is truly a symbol of feminine courage and endurance through the struggles women face in the western world every day, and through the telling of her story has opened up this secret life without tarnishing the muslim religion, only the men who try to interpret it to suit themselves.
Read this book. Whilst being simply written, it tells of exreamely complicated issues that, thankfully, I will never experience. You will not be able to put it down and even after you finish it you will think of it. If you like this book, the sequel "Daughters of Arabia" is also worth reading and similarly "Not Without My Daughter" by Betty Mahmoody.
Rating:
Summary: Read it in one sitting
Review: I was asked to read this book for my bookclub, and with much hesitation finally sat down to start. What I found was a story that I couldn't put down. I read the entire book in one afternoon. The author held me captive as she described the princess' life. One that I might add that I am glad, and thank God, that I am not living. Many young girls dream of being a princess. Well this is a story that debunks the princess of fairytales. I wished in my heart that as an American I could do something for her as she waited for the Americans to lead the way for the women of her country. I am appalled at the customs of the treatment of women in Saudi Arabia, and I hope that the princess will see the life she dreams of for the women of her country.
Rating:
Summary: For males & females in all age groups...
Review: I am extremely interested in books about the Middle East. I was not drawn to these stories until a friend insisted I read them. Jean Sasson is a very clever writer and has weaved a story that is extremely entertaining, yet, the reader learns all sorts of truly serious information in the telling. At the same a time I discovered these books, my teenage son was required to read this book in a school class and he does not even like to read but he asked for the two sequels to this title and read them on his own. Jean Sasson is a "hidden" treasure in the world of writing. I recommend these books, as well as anything else she writes. For all age groups and for both sexes...
Rating:
Summary: Warning: You won't be able to put it down!
Review: This book opens the eyes of naive Americans who don't appreciate all of their American& God-given freedoms. This book will keep you in suspense,shock and anticipation every page. You will walk along with this royal family in Saudi Arabia. It is amazing to think that men and women (and women aren't allowed to) interpret the Koran differently...no wonder the diversity in Muslim's behaviors in different countries. This royal woman's heart of gold, shines out from behind the veil...and you want to waltz into her life as she encounters new conflicts & joys!
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