Product Description

Readers of Princess Sultana's extraordinary story, PRINCESS, were gripped by her powerful indictment of women's lives behind the veil within the royal family of Saudi Arabia. Now, Jean Sasson turns the spotlight on Sultana's two teenage daughters, Maha and Amani.

As second-generation members of the royal family who have benefited from Saudi oil wealth, Maha and Amani have never known the poverty which their grandparents experienced as children. Surrounded by untold opulence and luxury from the day they were born and which they take for granted, but stifled by the unbearably restrictive lifestyle imposed on them, they have reacted in equally desperate ways.

Their dramatic and shocking stories, together with many more which concern other members of Princess Sultana's huge family, are set against a rich backcloth of Saudi Arabian culture and social mores which are depicted with equal color and authenticity. We learn, for example, of the fascinating ritual of the world-famous annual pirlgrimage to Makkah as we accompany the princess and her family to this holiest of cities.

Throughout, however, Sultana never tires of her quest to expose the injustices which her society levels against women. In her couragewious campaign to improve the lot of her own daughters of Arabia, Princess Sultana once more strikes a chord amongst all women who are lucky enough to have the freedom to speak out for themselves.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #85204 in Books
• Published on: 2001-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780967673752
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Sasson's sequel to Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil is another page-turner related by "Princess Sultana." A member of the royal family of Saudi Arabia, Sultana now is married to a progressive prince, but this privileged status does not protect her or her two daughters from the country's repressive laws against women. Though a devout Muslim, Sultana believes the entrenched male power structure has perverted religious doctrine to justify veiling women and depriving them of basic civil liberties. The lack of opportunity to forge equal relationships with men before and after marriage, Sultana argues, is why one of her daughters became fanatically religious and the other suffered a mental breakdown. This eye-opening account is limited to life among the royals rather than a critique of Saudi Arabian society, although Sultana describes the brutal custom of female circumcision practiced by the poor.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
In this sequel to the popular Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia (LJ 7/92), Sultana continues her shocking and amazing story into the next generation. Feeling that men are generally at the root of female grief, she argues that it is the duty of the discontented like herself to seek change so that her children's generation will have some relief from the oppression that stifles Saudi women's lives today. The book is more than that-it gives insight into the lives of royalty and the views of those who can be religious while flaunting the strict Sunni rules against alcohol and temporary marriage. This book charms the heart and should be a popular item for general collections.
--Louise Leonard, Univ. of Florida Libs., Gainesville
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
In a country where woman are still essentially bought or bartered, the princess (real name withheld) is justifiably fearful when the family realizes she is the subject of the 1992 expos{‚}e, Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia. If this book has a thesis, it is a line the princess uses to describe the troubles her own daughters are going through as they try to assert themselves in the male-dominated society: "When normal is forbidden, people fall into the abnormal." With religious police watching over their morals, one wonders just how more "abnormal" these people and their country can be. The answer: quite a bit. This book, both fascinating and depressing, shows that women are much less than second-class citizens in Saudi society. Brian McCombie

Customer Reviews

***** A GREAT BOOK *****
After reading the first book about Princess Saltana (Princess) I knew that Daughters would be fascinating. And it is! The book discusses her 2 daughters and 1 son and picks up where her last book left off. Her youngest daughter is a devout Muslim with an extremely oppressive mentality towards her society. Her second child is a wild child by Saudi standards but her mother loves her just the same. And Princess Saltana's oldest child, her son is as compassionate and liberated as his mother. She raised him well. This story takes place in Saudi Arabia where women are treated as second class citizens. The men use their religion to justify all sorts of heinous crimes which is sickening when I thick about it. These men who degrade women are cowards but they get away with anything they want. In the USA they would be called pedophiles and locked up in jail. But in Saudi Arabia they are free to do exactly as they please. This is also about a country that regards wealth and physical attributes of the most important things in life, money and sex go hand and hand. And women are treated as property to gain social and economic power. Princess Saltana is a heroine for telling her story, even though her family found out about her first book. She is also a heroine for preaching women's rights in a land that has no rights for women. She is a heroine because she sees hope in the future for the women of her country. The book isn't only about her daughters it is also about Princess Saltana's life and family. She is a deeply moving person with a lot of conviction. And I can only hope that one day all the women in her country will be treated with the basic human rights that they all deserve - but do not have. I just found out there is a third book about Princess Saltana titled Princess Saltana's Circle, I am sure it will be an interesting read too. Also I want to say that Jean Sasson is a genius and a brilliant writer!

More than true
I have lived in Saudi Arabia, my husband, and children are from there, and I myself am an Arab. I can tell you that Jean Sasson knows what she is talking about, as I myself have had similar experiences living in Saudi, as have friends and family. I know that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but many reviewers have said that the accounts in the books could not be true, because their Arab boyfriends told them, or because an Arab friend denies it. You would have to live in that country to know how true it is. And really live there, emersed in the culture, and society, and not living on some campus, or compound, surrounded by westerners, and with limited access to the average Saudi. I totally related to the books, PRINCESS, and DAIGHTERS, and found that some of the experiences the Princess had were exactly the same, or similar to things I myself had gone through, or others that I knew had. Those who think this book is fictional have obviously had no experience living in Saudi, or have some agenda, possibly someone who has been paid to give the book a bad review, as the Saudi government is very keen to keep up a facade, favourable to their royal family, and have been known to use these kinds of tactics, even going so far as to purchase large amounts of stock in certain media, either radio, television, and newspaper, to keep bad press about Saudi Arabia hidden from the outside world. These books are a danger to the Saudi Royal family, and I applaud Ms. Sassons courage, and that of the Princess for bringing the truth to the world, in a way that is both respectful, and in no way and indictment of the Islamic faith. Beleive me, it is true, and my only regret is that I only have 5 stars to give.

Excellent book
I've worked for the royal family in Saudi Arabia for the past twenty-five years, and I can say with all honesty that this book depicts the lives of Saudi Princes and Princesses very accurately. This is a natural outcome for a family that has low morale values and encourages its members to indulge in life's materialistic leisure in every possible way at the expenses of the Saudi people. While at the same time leaching the religious police to tighten the iron grip on the their poor citizens in the name of Islam. However, let not confuse Islam with the practices of the royal family, the religious police, or the religious fanatics in the country. The majority of Saudi men and women live according to the principles of their religion in what they consider it to be a near perfect way of living, despite the obvious lack of freedom, human rights violations, and social and economic injustices that they suffer.