Alexandria : city of memory /

Independent writer/photographer Haag (Alexandria Illustrated, 2004) draws extensively from diaries, letters, and interviews, as well as from published literary and historical studies, to deftly craft a nostalgic portrait of Egypt's second city during its multicultural era in the first half of the 20th century. Ever since the nationalist and reformist policies of Egyptian President Nasser, which brought an end to Mediterranean Alexandria, the city has been "haunted by a sense of vacancy, for almost all the citizens of cosmopolitan Alexandria have long since gone away, leaving a new people without memory to inhabit" it. Per the subtitle, the author focuses on the personalities, dreams, and writings of E. M. Forster, Constantine Cavafy, and Lawrence Durrell, carefully interweaving them with the historical evolution of Alexandria, Egypt, and the Middle East. This book will be of interest to students of history and literature. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. General and undergraduate collections. B. Harris Jr. Occidental College