It is Jan Morris' entirely defensible position that in 1945 New York City was at its apogee: victorious, exuberant, creative and sure of itself. This book is an attempt to recreate the Manhattan of that era -- and such are Morris's skills that the reader does indeed feel transported to that magical time. Crammed with historical detail and infused with authorial nostalgia, this pleasurable book blends history, memoir and conjecture. Morris didn't actually visit to New York until 1953.  (NYC51, $19.95)