"Spanning seal skins and potlatches, Black and white, Germany and America, Margaret Mead and Zora Neale Hurston, and the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition to World War II, Alan McGowan’s gripping biography of Franz Boas is also a history of anthropology and the struggle of Western science to understand and serve the public interest
Jesse Ausubel, Director, Program in the Human Environment, Rockefeller University
"This book chronicles the life and political action of Franz Boas, a ground-breaking anthropologist whose work denied the notion of racial superiority and introduced the notion of cultural relativity. In addition, he was a fierce pacifist who opposed the entry of the United States into World War I, and organized a powerful organization protecting the free speech of those accused of left-wing sympathies. He was among the first to recognize the strength of a scientist speaking out on political issues. The book will appeal to those interested in issues of race relations and free speech, and those interested in the role of science and scientists in the larger society.
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
"This book is a revelation. McGowan has masterfully revived the life of a remarkable pioneer in anthropology and humanistic studies who overcame great odds to become a courageous explorer, leading activist, legendary professor and groundbreaking researcher. Boas influenced prominent figures such as Margaret Mead, Ruth Benedict and Zora Neale Hurston, among others; and his ideas of how we perceive ourselves and society still resonate today with a vital immediacy and fresh urgency --“Citizen Boas” indeed!"