James Cowan (14 April 1870 – 6 September 1943) was a New Zealand non-fiction author, noted for his books on colonial history and Māori ethnography.

There was a strong military presence in the area; the family farm included a portion of the battlefield of Orakau and was near a fortification of the Armed Constabulary.

His articles covered a range of subjects, including interviews with individuals like Te Kooti, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir George Grey and the Māori King, and often required him to travel to remote areas of the country.

[1][2] Cowan's first two books were published in 1901; one was a travel guide to Taupō and the other a listing of the painter Gottfried Lindauer's works of Māori subjects.

Among these was the title New Zealand, or, Ao-teä-roa (the long bright world): its wealth and resources, scenery, travel routes, spas, and sport, which was intended as a handbook for tourists to the country.

From 1918 until 1922 Cowan was paid by the Department of Internal Affairs and worked on the publication The New Zealand wars: a history of the Maori campaigns and the pioneering period.

He died on 6 September 1943 at Ōtaki Beach hospital in Wellington, and was survived by his wife Eileen Cowan and his two sons, Roy and Jack.