Amira Jarmakani is an Associate Professor and Director of the Institute for Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Affiliated Faculty of the Middle East Institute at Georgia State University. She is the author of Imagining Arab Womanhood: The Cultural Mythology of Veils, Harems, and Belly Dancers in the U.S.

• Contents Preface vii Acknowledgments xxi Introduction: The Romantic Sheikh as Hero of the War on Terror 1 1. "To Catch a Sheikh" in the War on Terror 43 2.DesertIs Just Another Word for Freedom 79 3. Desiring the Big Bad Blade: The Racialization of the Sheikh 117 4. To Make a Woman Happy in Bed ... 155 Conclusion: The Ends 189 Notes197 Bibliography241 Index257 About the Author267

"Jarmakanis monograph is of particular interest to feminist literary scholars, especially those working with romance novels and/or with post-9/11 fiction." (Feminist Theory) "An Imperialist Love Story is a cutting edge piece of scholarship, exploring the fascinating tension between a resurgence in popular desert romances at a cultural moment in which Arab masculinity is understood as violent and threatening. Offering a radical reinterpretation of the power of mass-market engagements with the Middle East,Jarmakanianalyzes the role that fantasy and desire play in the construction of U.S. imperialism. Beautifully written and enjoyable to read, this book will generate debate in many different circles, for many years to come." - Sarah Gualtieri,author of Between Arab and White: Race and Ethnicity in the Early Syrian American Diaspora "Jarmarkani investigates & desert romances, i.e., pulp novels set in an imagined & Arabiastan and prominently featuring a sheikh or prince who is powerfully virile yet deeply sensitive and gratifyingly susceptible to the charms of the Western heroine." (Choice)