Squirrel Nation: Reds, Greys and the Meaning of Home - Hardcover

Peter Coates

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1789147700 ISBN 13: 9781789147704

Publisher: Reaktion Books, 2023

Synopsis

'This is eco-cultural history at its best, thoughtful, witty and engaging.' - Rob Lambert, environmental historian

'Peter Coates's revealing tales of squirreldom have the very serious purpose of exposing the biases, compassions, wits and dreams of the British people themselves.' - Marcus Hall, University of Zurich

Squirrel Nation is a history of Britain’s two species of squirrel over the past two hundred years. The red squirrel, although rare, is among the most cherished of native species. Grey squirrels, by contrast, are one of the most frequently seen wild creatures in our gardens, parks, towns and countryside, and many Britons consider it to be a foreign interloper, introduced from North America in the late nineteenth century. By examining this animal’s colonization of Britain, Peter Coates also explores timely issues of belonging, nationalism, citizenship and the defence of borders within Britain today. Ultimately, though people are swift to draw distinctions between British squirrels and squirrels in Britain, Squirrel Nation shows that Britain’s two squirrel species have much more in common than at first appears.

About this title

About the Author

Peter Coates is Emeritus Professor of American and Environmental History at the University of Bristol. His previous books include Salmon (2006) and A Story of Six Rivers (2013), both published by Reaktion Books.

Edition details

• Publisher: Reaktion Books
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1789147700
• ISBN 13: 9781789147704
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336