-After being forced into exile in Sudan because of his vocal opposition to US troop deployments in Saudi Arabia, bin Laden would later take pride in growing sunflowers as he dodged assassination plots and built the Al-Qaeda network.
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"Osama's favorite undertaking was working the land, growing the best corn and the biggest sunflowers," Najwa said.
"Osama's favorite undertaking was working the land, growing the best corn and the biggest sunflowers," Najwa said.
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But his love of nature was also colored by growing political fervor. He forced the family to spend nights in the desert, with only dirt as cover from the cold. He also forced his sons to climb desert mountains without water to toughen them ahead of more difficult times. But there were more lighthearted moments with bin Laden, whom his sons admired as a good horseman, a fluent English speaker -- thanks to his school days -- and a mathematics whiz.
But his love of nature was also colored by growing political fervor. He forced the family to spend nights in the desert, with only dirt as cover from the cold. He also forced his sons to climb desert mountains without water to toughen them ahead of more difficult times. But there were more lighthearted moments with bin Laden, whom his sons admired as a good horseman, a fluent English speaker -- thanks to his school days -- and a mathematics whiz.
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"My father was so well known for the skill that there were times when men would come to our home and ask him to match his wits against a calculator," Omar said, adding his father usually won. They also spoke about a man who loved eating fruit, particularly mangoes, took two sugars in his tea, whose favorite meal was marrow-stuffed zucchini and who liked to listen to BBC radio.
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"My father was so well known for the skill that there were times when men would come to our home and ask him to match his wits against a calculator," Omar said, adding his father usually won. They also spoke about a man who loved eating fruit, particularly mangoes, took two sugars in his tea, whose favorite meal was marrow-stuffed zucchini and who liked to listen to BBC radio.
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Spooks will no doubt pour over the book for new clues to bin Laden's habits or whereabouts. They will learn he may be able to pilot a helicopter, but also suffers from bouts of malaria and is partially blind in his right eye thanks to a boyhood metalwork injury for which he received treatment in London.
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