author
W J McGee
1853–1912
A self-taught scientist from Iowa, this energetic writer and field researcher moved across geology, anthropology, and ethnology at a time when those disciplines were still taking shape. His work helped document both the American landscape and Indigenous cultures, leaving a wide-ranging record of curiosity and ambition.
2 Audiobooks
The Siouan Indians
by W J McGee
About the author
Born in Iowa in 1853, W J McGee built a remarkable career with little formal schooling. He became known as an inventor, geologist, anthropologist, and ethnologist, and he was unusual even in his own time for moving so freely between different fields of study.
McGee worked with the United States Geological Survey and later with the Smithsonian's Bureau of American Ethnology. He studied landforms, water, and soils, and he also carried out fieldwork among Indigenous communities, especially in the American Southwest. He often signed his name simply as "W J McGee," without periods.
He died in 1912, but his reputation has endured through his books, articles, and government research. For listeners interested in early American science writing, he stands out as a driven, wide-ranging thinker whose work reflects both the strengths and the limits of the era in which he wrote.