There's some bad news going around about senior scholars who have perhaps fallen into the trap of believing in their own greatness. So as a corrective, I'm going to start a thread listing some of the really wonderful work by junior scholars that I have read this year.

First up is The Floating Coast by Bathsheba Demuth. She won the Marsh Prize (deservedly), so the book doesn't need my endorsement, but it's one of the most sophisticated books I've read in a long time.

Next up is Sailing School by Margaret Schotte. Ever wonder how early modern navigators learned their trade? The answer might surprise you. The research behind this book is astonishingly good.

James Palmer's The Virtues of Economy is a really nice example of how to use sources (in his case wills mostly) to get unexpected results.

A shout out to Rebecca Woods for her terrific The Herds Shot Round the World, which tells the story of how empire, livestock breeding, and global markets for meat resulted in new animals.

Okay, so that last one I read three years ago. But it was staring at me from my shelf. Sue me.

I'll pick this up later. But remember to support the work of junior colleagues by buying and teaching their books. And feel free to chime in with your own favorites.

One more before I go cook dinner. Did I mention Nicole Seymour's absolutely brilliant book Bad Environmentalism from 2018? No? Let me correct that. Do you think a queer theory reading of environmentalism is for someone else? No it's for you. Trust me.

The point here is that while I am not immune to the attractions of Schadenfreude, maybe it's right and proper to remember that there is top quality scholarship that deserves your attention more.