Burstein, Stanley Mayer 1941-

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Burstein, Stanley Mayer 1941-
(Stanley M. Burstein)

PERSONAL:

Born September 16, 1941 in Methuen, MA; married, 1966; children: two children. Education: University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., M.A., and Ph.D.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of History, California State University at Los Angeles, 5151 State University Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90032. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Historian and educator. California State University at Los Angeles, professor of history, beginning, 1968, and chair of department, now emeritus.

MEMBER:

Association of Ancient Historians, Amphilol Association, American Research Center in Egypt, World History Association, California Council for the Social Studies, California Classical Association, Hakluyt Society.

AWARDS, HONORS:

National Endowment for the Humanities independent study fellowship, 1976, translation grant, 1985, fellowship for college professors and independent scholars, 1994; named California State University at Los Angeles Outstanding Professor, 1993, and President's Distinguished Professor, 1996.

WRITINGS:

Outpost of Hellenism: The Emergence of Heracles on the Black Sea, University of California Press (Berkeley, CA), 1976.

(Editor and translator) Berossus, the Chaldean, The Babyloniaca of Berossus, Undena Publications (Malibu, CA), 1978.

(Editor and translator) The Hellenistic Age from the Battle of Ipsos to the Death of Kleopatra VII ("Translated Documents of Greece" series), Cambridge (New York, NY), 1985.

(Editor, with Sarah B. Pomeroy) Ancient History, 2nd edition, Markus Wiener Publishers (New York, NY), 1986.

(Translator and editor) Agatharchides of Cnidus, On the Erythraean Sea, Hakluyt Society (London, England), 1989.

Graeco-Africana: Studies in the History of Greek with Egypt and Nubia, A.D. Caratzas (New Rochelle, NY), 1994.

(Editor, with D. Brendan Nagle) The Ancient World: Readings in Social and Cultural History, Prentice Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1995, 3rd edition, 2006.

(Editor) Ancient African Civilizations: Kush and Axum, Markus Wiener Publishers (Princeton, NJ), 1998.

(Editor, with Bernard Lewis) Land of Enchanters: Egyptian Short Stories from the Earliest Times to the Present Day, 2nd edition, Markus Wiener Publishers (Princeton, NJ), 2001.

The Lords of Kush (elementary-grade textbook), Artesian Press, 2004.

The Reign of Cleopatra, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT), 2004.

(Editor, with D. Brendan Nagle) Readings in Greek History: Sources and Interpretations, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2006.

(With Richard Shek) Medieval and Early Modern Times (middle-grade textbook), Holt, Rinehart (Austin, TX), 2006.

(With Richard Shek) Ancient Civilizations (middle-grade textbook), Holt, Rinehart (Austin, TX), 2006.

(With Richard Shek) World History (middle-grade textbook), Holt, Rinehart (Austin, TX), 2006.

Contributor to books, including Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Macedonian Heritage, edited by E. Borza, 1982; Encyclopedia Iranica, 1989; Egypt and the Fabrication of European Identity, 1995; Ancient History: Recent Work and New Directions, Regina Books (Claremont, CA), 1997; and Current Issues and the Study of Ancient History, Regina Books, 2002. Contributor to periodicals, including Ancient History Bulletin, Scholia, Calliope, California Studies in Classical Antiquity, Classical Philology, Classical World, Meroitica, Nubian Studies, Graeco-Arabica, Ancient World, Historia, Historian, and University of Toronto Quarterly.

SIDELIGHTS:

A professor emeritus of history at California State University at Los Angeles, Stanley Mayer Burstein has served as editor and translator of several historical works focusing on the ancient world. Working with fellow editor D. Brendan Nagle, he has produced The Ancient World: Readings in Social and Cultural History, a work that has gone into three editions, while his skill as a translator has contributed to the classical studies The Babyloniaca of Berossus and The Hellenistic Age from the Battle of Ipsos to the Death of Kleopatra VII, both of which contain documents dating from the third century B.C. Of interest to more general readers, Land of Enchanters: Egyptian Short Stories from the Earliest Times to the Present Day is Burstein's revision of a classic work first edited by Bernard Lewis and published in London in 1948.

While many of Burstein's books are designed as textbooks or otherwise present overviews of ancient epochs, in The Reign of Cleopatra he narrows his focus, providing readers with an introduction to the life and times of the legendary Egyptian queen. Focusing on the political upheaval occurring within the Egyptian empire due to Roman incursions during Cleopatra's reign, the historian combines an in-depth profile of the queen's character with translations of contemporary documents and a helpful time line, allowing readers to become immersed in the life and times of one of the world's most captivating rulers. Burstein concludes his work with a thorough analysis of Cleopatra's significance as a symbol and a discussion of her impact on history itself. A comprehensive index and annotated bibliography round out the work. Joanne K. Cecere, reviewing The Reign of Cleopatra for School Library Journal, stated that while Burstein's book "provides a lively, interesting overview of its respective subject," the work's "real value lies in [the editor's judicious use of] primary-source material."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Choice, May, 1998, J.M. Balcer, review of Ancient African Civilizations: Kush and Axum, p. 158; January, 2003, S.M. Most, review of Land of Enchanters: Egyptian Short Stories from the Earliest Times to the Present Day, p. 820; October, 2005, review of The Reign of Cleopatra.

Reference & Research Book News, May, 2005, review of The Reign of Cleopatra, p. 58.

School Library Journal, August, 2005, Joanne K. Cecere, review of The Reign of Cleopatra, p. 142.