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STOLEN WATER, FORGOTTEN LIBERTIES is a fascinating memoir detailing the life and experiences of Joe Barnes—husband, father, WWII veteran, and the owner of the largest canoe and fishing rental service on Arkansas’ Buffalo River. More than a personal memoir, however, it also tells the larger story of a community bound together by a river that provided sustenance and livelihood, only to see it all threatened when, in 1972, the National Park Service took control of the river, designating it a “national river.” Along with the designation came tough new rules and regulations, which many living along the river found ill-conceived and unfair, and a struggle to maintain a way of life that had remained largely unchanged for generations. Awarded an Honorable Mention at the 2015 Los Angeles Book Festival.
