
The Great Liquor War
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
David M. McGowan
-
By:
-
D. M. McGowan
About this listen
The year is 1885. Hank James has been in Canada several months panning gold from a stream near Roswell, British Columbia. When he hears a prizefight will be held in town, he attends, along with everyone for miles around. With a little help from the fight referee, he wins big betting on the fight.
Having realized that the life of a miner isn’t nearly as romantic or rewarding as he expected, and with advice from the policeman who helped him win money on the fight, Hank goes to Farwell to haul freight with pack horses for contractors building the transcontinental railroad.
The railroad’s security, a detachment of North West Mounted Police, have maintained across the West that no liquor be allowed one mile on either side of the rail bed. Provincial authorities disagree.
Hank James believes in honoring and repaying his debts, but that doesn’t mean he should be involved in a war between the BC Provincial Police and the North West Mounted. He and his partners have trouble enough running their freight business, they don’t need to be caught between competing policemen. They are already stuck between Canada’s transcontinental railroad people and the contractors doing the actual construction.
While the police are fighting one another, who is looking for criminals, particularly those stealing Hank’s horses?
About the Author:
Despite a variety of jobs, D.M. McGowan is now retired from work as a commercial driver and lives near Mile "0" of the world-famous Alaska Highway. His stories bring Canadian history to life. "I believe in seeing morality and societal responsibility rewarded. Too much of today’s fiction seems to lead into the dark instead of the light."
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Canadian Red
- By: R. W. Stone
- Narrated by: Chris Abell
- Length: 4 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first time the Donovan twins, Lucas and Jamie, saw a Canadian Northwest Mounted Police officer, they knew that's what they wanted to be when they grew up. Years later, Lucas Donovan, now a member of the force, is on a mission to bring a ruthless serial killer to justice. For years, Jack Emerson has eluded capture in the vast Canadian wilderness, but now Donovan has vowed that nothing on earth will stop him from seeing this man caught and punished. The oath is both personal and professional, since one of the men Emerson killed was Constable Jamie Donovan, Lucas' twin brother.
-
-
Great story
- By Anonymous User on 02-19-22
By: R. W. Stone
-
Loner [Dramatized Adaptation]
- Loner, Book 1
- By: J. A. Johnstone
- Narrated by: full cast, Ken Jackson, Eric Messner, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Conrad Browning's wife disappears in the untamed frontier, Conrad finds himself assuming the identity of his famous gunslinging father, Frank Morgan, to find her. But his hopes of rescuing Rebel are swiftly shattered - and now he's burning for vengeance, the old-fashioned way. So he fakes his own death and starts calling himself The Loner, becoming the deadliest gunfighter this side of his own father - ready to settle the score in blood and bullets....
-
-
starts slow but gets better
- By Sonny Cecena on 04-04-23
By: J. A. Johnstone
-
The Drifter [Dramatized Adaptation]
- The Last Gunfighter, Book 1
- By: William W. Johnstone
- Narrated by: full cast, James Konicek, Ken Jackson, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once, Frank Morgan had a wife and a future on the land — until a rich man with a grudge drove him out of Colorado. Since then, Morgan's taken up the one skill that always came easy — gunfighting — and drifted to a mining town in the New Mexico Territory. But there's nothing easy about two vicious gangs descending on the town and threatening to wreak havoc. With his reputation preceding him, Morgan is elected to stand in the outlaws' way.
-
-
Not for me.
- By Amazon costumer on 03-31-25
-
The Empty Land
- By: Louis L'Amour
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For thousands of years, the lonely canyon knew only wind and rain, wild animals, and an occasional native hunter. Then a trapper found a chunk of gold, and everything changed overnight. In six days, a town called Confusion appeared... and on the seventh it could disappear, consumed by the flames of lawlessness and violence. On one side are those who understand only brute force. On the other are men who want law and order but are ready to use a noose to achieve their ends.
-
-
One of L'Amour's best
- By Lifeisshort on 01-17-13
By: Louis L'Amour
-
A Lone Star Christmas [Dramatized Adaptation]
- Christmas, Book 1
- By: William W. Johnstone, J. A. Johnstone
- Narrated by: full cast, Terence Aselford, Kimberly Gilbert, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They just wanted to get home for Christmas...but fate had other plans. It's December 1890. A Texas rancher named Big Jim Conyers has a deal with Scottish-born, Wyoming cattleman named Duff MacCallister. Along with Smoke and Matt Jensen, the party bears down on Dodge, Kansas, to make a cattle drive back to Forth Worth. But before they can get out of Dodge, guns go off and a rich man's son is killed.
-
-
Christmas series
- By Danny Harr on 01-27-21
By: William W. Johnstone, and others
-
The Iron Marshal
- A Novel
- By: Louis L'Amour
- Narrated by: Erik Singer
- Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He was a tough enforcer for a New York gang. But when young Tom Shanaghy made one too many enemies, he skipped town on a fast-moving freight. He landed in a small Kansas town that had big dreams, no name, and the need for an honest lawman. Tom figured that a knuckle-and-skull man from Five Points would be perfect for the job. He didn't know that a high-stakes cattle drive was headed his way and that leading it was a vindictive rancher bent on settling an old score.
-
-
A Triple Cross
- By Jean on 07-30-17
By: Louis L'Amour
-
Canadian Red
- By: R. W. Stone
- Narrated by: Chris Abell
- Length: 4 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first time the Donovan twins, Lucas and Jamie, saw a Canadian Northwest Mounted Police officer, they knew that's what they wanted to be when they grew up. Years later, Lucas Donovan, now a member of the force, is on a mission to bring a ruthless serial killer to justice. For years, Jack Emerson has eluded capture in the vast Canadian wilderness, but now Donovan has vowed that nothing on earth will stop him from seeing this man caught and punished. The oath is both personal and professional, since one of the men Emerson killed was Constable Jamie Donovan, Lucas' twin brother.
-
-
Great story
- By Anonymous User on 02-19-22
By: R. W. Stone
-
Loner [Dramatized Adaptation]
- Loner, Book 1
- By: J. A. Johnstone
- Narrated by: full cast, Ken Jackson, Eric Messner, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Conrad Browning's wife disappears in the untamed frontier, Conrad finds himself assuming the identity of his famous gunslinging father, Frank Morgan, to find her. But his hopes of rescuing Rebel are swiftly shattered - and now he's burning for vengeance, the old-fashioned way. So he fakes his own death and starts calling himself The Loner, becoming the deadliest gunfighter this side of his own father - ready to settle the score in blood and bullets....
-
-
starts slow but gets better
- By Sonny Cecena on 04-04-23
By: J. A. Johnstone
-
The Drifter [Dramatized Adaptation]
- The Last Gunfighter, Book 1
- By: William W. Johnstone
- Narrated by: full cast, James Konicek, Ken Jackson, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once, Frank Morgan had a wife and a future on the land — until a rich man with a grudge drove him out of Colorado. Since then, Morgan's taken up the one skill that always came easy — gunfighting — and drifted to a mining town in the New Mexico Territory. But there's nothing easy about two vicious gangs descending on the town and threatening to wreak havoc. With his reputation preceding him, Morgan is elected to stand in the outlaws' way.
-
-
Not for me.
- By Amazon costumer on 03-31-25
-
The Empty Land
- By: Louis L'Amour
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For thousands of years, the lonely canyon knew only wind and rain, wild animals, and an occasional native hunter. Then a trapper found a chunk of gold, and everything changed overnight. In six days, a town called Confusion appeared... and on the seventh it could disappear, consumed by the flames of lawlessness and violence. On one side are those who understand only brute force. On the other are men who want law and order but are ready to use a noose to achieve their ends.
-
-
One of L'Amour's best
- By Lifeisshort on 01-17-13
By: Louis L'Amour
-
A Lone Star Christmas [Dramatized Adaptation]
- Christmas, Book 1
- By: William W. Johnstone, J. A. Johnstone
- Narrated by: full cast, Terence Aselford, Kimberly Gilbert, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They just wanted to get home for Christmas...but fate had other plans. It's December 1890. A Texas rancher named Big Jim Conyers has a deal with Scottish-born, Wyoming cattleman named Duff MacCallister. Along with Smoke and Matt Jensen, the party bears down on Dodge, Kansas, to make a cattle drive back to Forth Worth. But before they can get out of Dodge, guns go off and a rich man's son is killed.
-
-
Christmas series
- By Danny Harr on 01-27-21
By: William W. Johnstone, and others
-
The Iron Marshal
- A Novel
- By: Louis L'Amour
- Narrated by: Erik Singer
- Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He was a tough enforcer for a New York gang. But when young Tom Shanaghy made one too many enemies, he skipped town on a fast-moving freight. He landed in a small Kansas town that had big dreams, no name, and the need for an honest lawman. Tom figured that a knuckle-and-skull man from Five Points would be perfect for the job. He didn't know that a high-stakes cattle drive was headed his way and that leading it was a vindictive rancher bent on settling an old score.
-
-
A Triple Cross
- By Jean on 07-30-17
By: Louis L'Amour
-
Only the Stubborn Survive
- By: R. W. Stone
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 5 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A young teenager named Red and the old prospector who raised him arrive in Baker's Gap, anxious to start a new life, having struck a glory hole of gold. Much to Red's horror, however, the prospector is gunned down in the street. Suddenly alone in a strange town, the boy is angry and distrustful, but fortunately Tom Harrison, the local sheriff, is willing to accept responsibility for his care if he can convince him to stay. A strong bond soon develops between the two, and in exchange for Red agreeing to attend school, the sheriff pledges to pass down all he knows about law enforcement.
-
-
An easy read
- By Jean on 09-05-19
By: R. W. Stone
-
Fair Blows the Wind
- A Novel
- By: Louis L'Amour
- Narrated by: John Keating
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
His father killed by the British and his home burned, young Tatton Chantry left Ireland to make his fortune and regain the land that was rightfully his. Schooled along the way in the use of arms, Chantry arrives in London a wiser and far more dangerous man. He invests in trading ventures, but on a voyage to the New World his party is attacked by Indians and he is marooned in the untamed wilderness of the Carolina coast. It is in this darkest time, when everything seems lost, that Chantry encounters a remarkable opportunity....
-
-
A swashbuckling adventure
- By rahhenry on 01-04-20
By: Louis L'Amour
-
Montana Territory
- By: Charles G. West
- Narrated by: Brian Hutchison
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Raised among the Blackfoot, John Hawk is a valuable asset to the US Army. As a military scout at Fort Ellis, he is able to cross the line between two worlds - and help keep the peace. But when he disobeys a direct order from his commander, Hawk is immediately dismissed from his post. That was the army’s first mistake. The second was losing track of a small mule train en route to Helena.
-
-
Too Nicey and Unrealistic
- By Danny Slaba on 10-25-24
By: Charles G. West
-
Cutthroats
- Slash and Pecos, Book 1
- By: William W. Johnstone, J. A. Johnstone
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a lifetime of robbing banks and holding up trains, Jimmy "Slash" Braddock and Melvin "Pecos Kid" Baker are ready to call it quits, though not completely by choice. Sold out by their old gang, they have to bust out of jail and pull one last job to finance their early retirement. The target is a rancher's payroll train. Catch is: the train is carrying a Gatling gun and 20 deputy US marshals who know they're coming. Caught and quickly sentenced to hang, their old enemy - the wheelchair-bound, bucket of mean, Marshal L. C. Bledsoe - shows up at the last minute to spare their lives.
-
-
Sash and Pecos Washed Up Outlaws Loan To Change
- By Jstarks3091 on 03-20-21
By: William W. Johnstone, and others
-
Mac's Cabin
- By: C.J. Petit
- Narrated by: Michael Alan White
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mac Jones had been searching for a refuge for seven years and had finally found it in the mountains of Colorado. Then, as soon as his cabin was built, he was presented with two fellow refugees who would turn his peaceful sanctuary into a killing ground.
-
-
Excellent story and narration
- By Karen S on 12-25-20
By: C.J. Petit
-
Have Brides, Will Travel
- Have Brides, Will Trave, Book 1
- By: William W. Johnstone, J. A. Johnstone
- Narrated by: J. Rodney Turner
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bo Creel and Scratch Morton are lifelong drifters who keep one eye on the horizon, one finger on the trigger, and one foot out the door. Roaming the West is what keeps them young, or so Scratch tells Bo. But when they save the life of Cyrus Keegan - the owner of a matrimonial agency - they receive an unexpected proposal that's hard to resist. Keegan needs to deliver five mail order brides to a mining town in New Mexico Territory. All Scratch and Bo have to do is get these gals to the church on time - and alive, if possible.
-
-
A great story. The Narration kept the story moving
- By Marsha on 03-07-21
By: William W. Johnstone, and others
-
Firestick (Dramatized Adaptation)
- Firestick, Book 1
- By: William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone
- Narrated by: full cast, Joe Mallon, Michael John Casey, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his mountain-man days, Elwood “Firestick” McQueen was practically a living legend. His hunting, tracking, and trapping skills were known far and wide. But it was his deadly accuracy with a rifle that earned him the Indian name “Firestick.” His two best buddies are Malachi “Beartooth” Skinner—whose knife was as fatal as a grizzly’s chompers—and Jim “Moosejaw” Hendricks, who once wielded the jawbone of a moose to crush his enemies in the heat of battle. Of course, things are different nowadays.
By: William W. Johnstone, and others
-
Holmes on the Range
- By: Steve Hockensmith
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1893 is a tough year in Montana, and any job is a good job. When Big Red and Old Red Amlingmeyer sign on as ranch hands at the secretive Bar-VR cattle spread, they're not expecting much more than hard work, bad pay, and a comfortable campfire around which they can enjoy their favorite pastime: scouring Harper's Weekly for stories about the famous Sherlock Holmes.
-
-
For Holmes Sake
- By Fred on 04-24-06
-
The Black Hills Blood Hunt
- Buchanon-Morgan, Book 1
- By: William W. Johnstone, J. A. Johnstone
- Narrated by: Al Kessel
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Deadwood, South Dakota. Miners flock there seeking fortunes, while cardsharps, bandits, and businessmen seek to deprive those who strike gold by means fair and foul. Legendary former lawman Seth Bullock plans to keep the peace by any means necessary—especially when his good friend, President Theodore Roosevelt, is expected in town to celebrate the anniversary of Deadwood's founding.
-
-
The Black Hills blood Hunt
- By Danny Harr on 10-26-22
By: William W. Johnstone, and others
-
MacCallister: The Eagles Legacy
- Duff MacCallister Western Series, Book 1
- By: William W. Johnstone, J. A. Johnstone
- Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Scottish Highlands, 1885. Two men, brandishing knives, attack a young woman outside a pub. Duff MacAllister steps in and saves her - killing one of the assailants. Big mistake. The attacker was the sheriff's son, and now MacAllister is marked for death. His only hope: America. Here, in the sprawling land of dreams, Duff hopes to start a new life with his American cousins. Unfortunately, the sheriff's deputies are tracking him down - with nine of the deadliest cutthroats money can buy.
-
-
Writing style?
- By Tim Wilson on 04-22-19
By: William W. Johnstone, and others
-
Deadly Trail
- By: William W. Johnstone
- Narrated by: Jack Garrett
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mountain Man series established William W. Johnstone as one of the most heralded writers ever to pen tales of the Old West. Following in the footsteps of his adoptive father Smoke, Matt Jensen has big boots to fill. Matt's never been one to shy away from a confrontation, and he's got a fire burning in his belly that's leading him straight toward a deadly showdown in the town of Braggadocio.
-
-
performance
- By Kindle Customer on 04-15-24
-
The Last Gunfighter 1-3 Bundle (Dramatized Adaptation)
- The Last Gunfighter
- By: William W. Johnstone
- Narrated by: full cast, Ken Jackson, James Konicek, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once, Frank Morgan had a wife and a future on the land - until a rich man with a grudge drove him out of Colorado. Since then, Morgan's taken up the one skill that always came easy - gunfighting - and drifted to a mining town in the New Mexico Territory. But there's nothing easy about two vicious gangs descending on the town and threatening to wreak havoc. With his reputation preceding him, Morgan is elected to stand in the outlaws' way. And with nothing left to lose, he's the last man who will ever back down....
-
-
Chapter 3 does a whole chapter a 2
- By TG on 09-25-21
What listeners say about The Great Liquor War
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- AudioBookReviewer
- 05-02-24
Wild West, Railroad, and More!
Hank James is many things including an entrepreneur with a head for business and luck and a man of honor. After exploring several different ventures, he settles on raising pack horses in Canada. He quickly recognizes the value of this business since the transcontinental railroad construction workers will require pack horses to finish the railroad. The battle between the North West Mounted Police and the BC Provincial Police over alcohol is but one battle James must contend with as the other is horse thievery – from him!
The author, David M. McGowan, captures and presents vividly Canadian history during the 1800s. McGowan skillfully weaves history with social and moral values, creating characters with complex depth and vibrant personalities that enrich the narrative. McGowan is a masterful storyteller as he maintains a smooth narrative flow, making the intense and complex story easy to follow.
As the narrator, David M. McGowan projects the personalities, situations, and actions vividly and authentically. He maintains the story’s momentum with a consistent pace, effectively portraying interactions and accurately conveying emotions.
This is a very well-written and captivating book. It is clear the book was well-researched. I highly recommend this audiobook.
There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!