It was a really good book, but only 3 stars because it was so hard for me to read. Knowing it was a true story made the horrible torture accounts and opression a bit too real. I guess that's the point, but I won't be reading this one again any time soon. Good book though.

Jean Sasson has written half a dozen books on Saudi Arabia. Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait,she also wrote a short book,The Rape of Kuwait.

The problem with her books always is that they either look like fiction or a mixture of fact and fiction,at best.

In case of this book,it also looks like propaganda and an exercise in Saddam bashing.It was published not long after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.

While Saddam was no doubt bad,Jean Sasson's books are completely silent about the US invasions of the country and their impact on Iraq's long suffering people.

Apart from debatable factual accuracy,this book was pretty boring too.

obviously, this is one woman's side of the story, but it opened my eyes as to the things that paople face in other parts of the world and under dictator rule. and she was one of the lucky ones.

Mayada Al-Askari was born into a powerful Iraqi family. the story follows mayada's life as it was lived since the Ba'ath party and Saddam Hussein came into power. this is a sad story of the whole population who lived with the constant fear in their hearts, under the cruel regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

The story of Mayada is a bit different than the 'Princess' trilogy and is a little more dark, but still very good. Jean Sasson still writes eloquently and with such spell binding truth, however, the undertones of Saddam Hussein and the evil with which he ruled create a darker image.
Mayada herself is a wonderful character. She is a determined, brave woman and an inspiration to read about.

A biography following the life of a woman in Iraq. She is an interesting case as her family was well known in Iraq and they had certain special privledges. She knew Sadaam Hussein. She is imprisoned on false charges and it was fascinating (sad) to hear the stories of the other women in the prison.

Why did so many Iraqis risk their lives by putting their finger on the ink pad, to vote for a new government? Read this memoir of this lady's life, prior to the war and you will soon understand the hideous events that were taking place under Saddam Hussein. Well written and very interesting.

Would have been a 5 star if the book was marketed as fiction based on real events.

I liked this book, although I had doubts about conflicts of interest and wondered if the book had a sensationalism to it. Those doubts aside, I enjoyed the book. It made modern life in Iraq very vivid. It also drives home the real evils of the Saddam regime. I think it is a worthwhile read.

I just finished this book tonight. We borrowed it from Merlyn, Arica read it first and told me to hurry up so we could discuss it. It opened my eyes to the evil of Saddam and the plight of the Iraqi people. There were some tough parts when she is in prison and the torture she and others survived. Good book.

A very intense book of the genre where you read every line, every page.
All through the book you keep wishing that it is a fiction work on a dystopian future but it's really sad that it's a biography.

Hard to read because of the torture, etc. Because it is non-fiction it was an amazing story of a woman surviving Saddam Hussein regime.If I were her I would be afraid to write about it for fear of retaliation.