The Bin Ladens : oil, money, terrorism and the secret Saudi world / Steve Coll.

First published in 2008 as "The Bin Ladens : an Arabian family in the American century."

Includes bibliographical references (pages [637]-645) and index.

The Bin Ladens rose from poverty to privilege; they loyally served the Saudi royal family for generations--and then one of their number changed history on September 11, 2001. Journalist Steve Coll tells the story of the rise of the Bin Laden family and of the wildly diverse lifestyles of the generation to which Osama bin Laden belongs, and against whom he rebelled. Starting with the family's escape from famine at the beginning of the twentieth century, through its jet-set era in America after the 1970s oil boom, and finally to the family's attempts to recover from September 11, this book unearths extensive new material about the family and its relationship with the United States, and provides a richly revealing and emblematic narrative of our globally interconnected times.--From publisher description.

Patriarchs: 1900 to September 1967. In exile ; The royal garage ; Silent partners ; The glory of his reign ; For Jerusalem ; The backlash ; A modern man ; Crosswind -- Sons and daughters: September 1967 to May 1988. The guardians ; Young Osama ; Realm of conspiracy ; The rising son ; Discovering America ; The convert's zeal ; Wired ; The amusement park ; In the king's service ; Anxiety disorder ; The grinder ; The arms bazaar ; Off the books ; The proposal ; Kitty Hawk field of dreams -- The global family: June 1988 to September 2001. Writer-director-producer ; Lump sums ; America in motion ; The Swiss accounts ; A Rolls-Royce in the rain ; The construction of exile ; Hedge funds ; A Trojan desk ; The aesthetics of worship ; One phone, one world ; Lawyers, guns and money ; Bin Laden island -- Legacies: September 2001 to September 2007. The name ; Public relations ; Brands ; So what? ; In exile.