The Saudi Royal Family was well presented for younger children. Reed wrote this in a way that enables young kids to understand not only the Saudi Royal Family but the religion of Islam. She remains objective throughout but as an American questions whether or not the Sauds are our friends. She raises this question in a way that would allow kids to think it through and come to their own conlcusion. The photos are wonderful and I liked the color, layout and presentation of the book.

I used this to do a report about Yasir Arafat. It was a great book! Good photos and information. Also, it was easy to read. I learned that Yasir means "easy going." Pretty cool. I can't wait to read more books by Colleen Madonna Flood Williams. Her name is long, but it's still a nice name.

I wish I could rate this book with no stars! It's full of mistakes, inaccuracies and incorrect assumptions. The book cover depicts a picture of the Shah next to the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This would be the same as putting the picture of President Bush next to the flag of the Taliban. It's truely an insult.

In addition to the above mistake, the book is riddled with amatuer errors, such as listing Russia as a current neighbor of Iran. Any current map would illustrate that Russia no longer shares a land border with Iran, after the break up of Soviet Union.

There were too many mistakes to keep track, so the overall conclusion is how could one trust the author's reporting who can't even get the basic facts straight.

Despite that I read the book quickly, only to be additionally disappointed by the inability of the author to at least try to understand a nation with 2500 years of written history, of which only the last 24 years are without a king. It's difficult to take any of author's reporting unbiased or culturally sensitive. A great propaganda book for the Islamic Republic of Iran!

I thought this book did a tremendous job of telling the story of a controversial figure without taking sides. I found no factual errors to speak of--the other review posted mentions that the book refers to Iran's border with Russia, but it's referring to it's historic relationship, not it's current status. Propagandists for the Shah and the Pahlavi family will probably be angered by the book's references to the Shah's human rights abuses, but I thought the author did an excellent job of backing up her claims. It's well-written, and it treats it's audience--young adults--with respect. To accuse the author of being pro-Islamist is to completely miss the point of her arguments. She writes passionately about the tragedy that is modern Iranian history, and I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the region.