Winner of a 2016 Independent Publisher Book Award

Born a slave on a rice plantation in South Carolina, John Ware (1845–1905) became one of the most successful independent ranchers in southern Alberta through the sheer force of his will and through his incredible skill at the cowboy trade.

This fascinating historical novel details his adventures, as well as his trials and tribulations, on the long road that took him from South Carolina to Texas to Montana and finally north to Canada. High Rider is the compelling story of a truly great, yet unsung, Canadian hero.

Bill Gallaher is a well-known singer and songwriter who has also worked as an air-traffic controller and taught social studies. He is the author of The Frog Lake Massacre and The Luck of the Horseman, the first two books in the Wild Jack Strong trilogy. He has also written several other novels, which include The Promise: Love, Loyalty and the Lure of Gold; The Journey: The Overlanders' Quest for Gold; A Man Called Moses: The Curious Life of Wellington Delaney Moses; and Deadly Innocent. Please visit www.members.shaw.ca/billgallaher.

Bill Gallaher's profile page

• Winner, IPPY Award for Best Regional Fiction

Bill Gallaher chats with Donna McElligott of CBC's Alberta At Noon about his book and which aspects of John Ware's character were historical versus fictitional.

Canadian History Books for Schools recommends High Rider for English Language Arts, Social Justice, and Social Studies students in grades 10-12.

"Gallaher’s novel is easily compared to Joe R. Lansdale’s wonderful Paradise Sky (2015), though Ware is a far gentler character than Nat Love, and Gallaher avoids turning him into a myth. He draws much of his material from a 1960 biography, John Ware’s Cow Country, by Grant MacEwan, and his fictional departures are never flamboyant or satirical, but, rather, restrained." —Booklist, starred review

"This story is historical writing at its best, with details of everyday life in the West, the heartfelt troubles John faced throughout his travels, and interactions that provide depth and life to every character. If you want to comprehend the pain that former slaves endured after the Civil War, become enlightened with this book." —Historical Novels Review