This richly atmospheric portrait of the ancient city, port and modern metropolis evokes the Alexandria of history and legend. Haag evokes in detail the cosmopolitan neighborhoods (largely emptied by Nassar in the 1950s), long-vanished ancient monuments and, especially, the literary history of Alexandria, a place that inspired Forster, Durrell and native-born Cavafy. Haag takes as his inspiration E.M. Forster's Alexandria, A History and Guide.  (EGY143, $39.00)