Squirrel Nation: Reds, Greys and the Meaning of Home

About the Book

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.

Table of Contents:
PREFACE 1 A TALE OF TWO SQUIRRELS 2 RED BEFORE GREY 3 GREY AND RED 4 AMERICAN HUSTLE, c. 1919-39 5 WAGING WAR ON THE 'GREY PERIL', c. 1939-73 6 WANTED: RED AND ALIVE 7 LEARNING TO LIVE WITH (AND TO LOVE) THE GREY REFERENCES SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PHOTO ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INDEX

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.

Review :
As Peter Coates’s splendidly rich book demonstrates in deep cultural detail, the long ‘squirrel wars’ of 20th-century Britain are a microcosm of wider arguments about biological belonging and what he nicely terms ‘the emotional ecology of home’.

The fact is that, as Peter Coates makes clear in
this magnificent survey of Britain’s ‘squirrel wars’, there is little
real difference between greys and
reds, apart from the grey’s greater adaptability and superior food-
finding skills . . . As its subtitle suggests, Coates’s book – surely the best and most complete there will ever be on this subject – considers the deeper significance of the ‘squirrel wars'.

As we approach the 150th anniversary of the introduction of the grey squirrel to Britain, Peter Coates looks at how the greys have usurped the native red squirrel and how the country has reacted to this - not well is the answer. It's an entertaining read, pitting the villainous greys against the sanctified reds and drawing on multiple sources as diverse as parliamentary records to headlines from the Daily Star. An in-depth examination of the history of Britain’s squirrels over the past 200 years. The threatened red is well-loved, while the ubiquitous grey, introduced from North America in the late nineteenth century, is generally considered to be a pest. Documenting the grey’s colonisation of Britain, Peter presents a range of stories about these fluffy-tailed rodents and in doing so explores timely issues of belonging, nationalism, citizenship and the defence of borders. Ultimately, though people are swift to draw distinctions between British squirrels and squirrels in Britain, Peter argues that Britain’s two squirrel species have much more in common than at first appears. The grey squirrel’s domination of Britain’s woodland over the past 150 years has enraged everyone from gamekeepers to prime ministers. Peter Coates discovers how the "American tree rat" became the furry mammal that Britons loved to hate. Peter, an entertaining armchair sciurologist (one who studies squirrels), delves through centuries of British history, with eyes for these ‘bumptious, nimble charismatics’ locating the fault lines in the conflict between red and grey . . . [an] engaging look at the cultural and political impact of squirrel conflict. In Squirrel Nation, Peter Coates compares the fortunes of red and grey squirrels in the UK . . . Coates has written a comprehensive and informative guide to attitudes towards and the treatment of Britain’s squirrels. This is eco-cultural history at its best, thoughtful, witty and engaging. Peter Coates deftly scurries and leaps through the branches of British squirrel-scapes while challenging us to reflect on the meaning of home, and of human nature. Frisky, alert and as industrious as his subjects, Peter Coates brilliantly narrates the history of our entangled relationship with the squirrel, red and grey. We’ve kept them as pets and given them personalities, but also eaten them and put bounties on their heads; we’ve made the grey a regrettable symbol of irresistible Americanisation and the red an embattled but beautifully fragile symbol of Britain in decline. Squirrels continue indifferent, clinging on here, thriving there. Possibly no other creature has attracted more emotion or controversy in the British nation than squirrels – at least since the rambunctious greys first arrived from America in 1876 to begin spreading beyond their welcome to foster rifts with the local reds. Yet it is precisely such squirrel antics that allow us to better understand our own human world, from childrens’ storybooks to national anthems, from beer to royal families. If the odd grey squirrel became an “aggressive thug”, maybe the red squirrel really did show a “stiff upper lip”. 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, who have been busy tussling with each other as they tussle with these cuddly creatures. By weaving in key insights about the biology of squirrels and their habitats, Squirrel Nation skilfully combines the best of natural history with cultural history. This is animal studies at its most accessible.