Feeling joy that my book is out today, especially after a somewhat famous historian chided me at the 2014 AHA that "any one of us fools can write the history of a failed project!" (1/8)

Deep Cut: Science, Power, and the Unbuilt Interoceanic Canal examines how the proposed (not failed) Atlantic-Pacific sea-level canal served important political and scientific purposes during different eras, from Humboldt to Jimmy Carter... (2/8)

The story weaves threads from #histsci #envhist #diplohist and #histtech, including peaceful nuclear explosives, marine invasive species, NEPA, US imperialism, Panamanian self-determination, and Indigenous resistance to unauthorized field surveys... (3/8)

The project started when I kept finding references to @stri_panama, sea snakes, and the sea-level canal at @SmithsonianArch. Additional grants from @NEHgov, @EisenhowerFound, @LBJFoundation, and @RIT_LiberalArts enabled me to dig deeper... (4/8)

Many setbacks occurred over 10 years, but inspirational scholarship, friends, and archival finds enabled me to contribute to the literature on Project Plowshare, environmental impact assessment, and unrealized megaprojects... (5/8)

Thanks to many!! @DerekKrissoff, @Mickodopolous, and @UGAPress believed in this book and Ihsan Taylor made important changes to the proofs, especially capitalizing Indigenous (thanks to activists on this platform for emphasizing this)... (6/8)

Please check out the text at the Sustainable History Monograph Pilot, and consider ordering a print copy for your library (a more dynamic cover by @erinknew is forthcoming, but the current one is 45% off through 12/24): https://ugapress.org/book/9780820338958/deep-cut/ (7/8)

Finally, if you're feeling stuck in your current project, I'm happy to share my struggles. And if you're writing on related topics, let me know! Let us build upon each other's works, and end the toxic culture of academic fool-shaming. (8/8)