Togetherness - by Rowan Hooper (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A wondrous, eye-opening exploration of the surprising ways life is interconnected--and why it matters

"Absolutely enthralling. I was hooked from the first sentence." --Bill Bryson, author of A Short History of Nearly Everything and The Body

From evolution to capitalism, our belief in the "survival of the fittest" has shaped our view of the world. But we got it wrong--and our mistake has brought us to the brink.

In Togetherness, evolutionary biologist Rowan Hooper shows us that all life on Earth hinges on collaboration. From the rich underbrush, to the murky ocean depths, to the human body itself, Hooper uncovers the poetry of life's greatest collaborations. The female wasp venturing deep inside a fig to pollinate the fruit and lay her egg; the intricate relationship between corals and the algae that sustain them; the symbiotic gut microbes that influence our moods. These are just a few of the intimate negotiations that animate and connect all living things. But, as Hooper explains, they also provide a guide to a more sustainable future.

Dazzlingly clever and suffused with awe, Togetherness will change the way you see the world, our place in it, and our obligation to its hidden wonders.

Review Quotes

"Absolutely enthralling. I was hooked from the first sentence." --Bill Bryson, author of A Short History of Nearly Everything and The Body

"I think this may be one of those rare books that's a classic upon its publication. It calmly and comprehensively helps you see the world in a very new and hopeful way, and I think the insights apply to our social and political life. We were, all of us, built for contact." --Bill McKibben, author Here Comes the Sun

"This book has both scientific chops and beautiful storytelling as it unpacks case after case of symbiosis in the natural world as well as what symbiosis is and does and why it matters. I wish this synthesis of so much knowledge had been available when I wrote my last book, but I'm glad it's available now for me and for anyone who finds joy, meaning, and possibility in our new understandings of nature." --Rebecca Solnit, author of The Beginning Comes After the End

"A clarion call for cooperation, at a time when competition, chaos, and cruelty seem to rule the day. In the symbiotic relationships of lichens, orchids and fig wasps, Rowan Hooper provides an antidote for division and distrust. Written by one of our finest science communicators, this is a joyful book, of hope and wonder, which celebrates community as the true key to success in nature." --Steve Brusatte, author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs

"Togetherness is the most important book I've read for years. Richly layered, thrilling, intellectually wide-ranging and so fascinating with evocative imagery and warm prose which brings the science and the world to vivid life and offers a crucial and urgent intervention on our mistaken and inadequate understanding of life and its entangled, enmeshed, webby, netty, symbiotic togetherness. A book that could solve the problem of ecological illiteracy in Western capitalist society and its catastrophic impacts. Utterly stunning and awe-inspiring. Everyone needs to read this book, now!" --Lucy Jones, author of Losing Eden

"With Togetherness, Rowan Hooper gives us a beautifully written, urgently needed rejoinder to the idea that we somehow exist outside of and beyond nature. The stories in Togetherness are fascinating and surprising--great reading as we confront the second half of the 2020s!" --Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, author of The Disordered Cosmos

"By weaving scientific evidence with personal experiences from around the world, Rowan Hooper takes us on an awe-inspiring journey that challenges long-held assumptions about individual competition as the single dominant force in nature. Recognising the interconnectedness among all organisms, including ourselves, is not a question of curiosity but survival. This book should herald the end of individualism: it is an exposé of our unbreakable connections with all life on Earth." --Professor Alexandre Antonelli, Director of Science, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

"Clever and compelling. From fascinating micro details to massive, big picture thinking, Togetherness reshapes our ideas about science, nature and ourselves. The revelations in this book made me re-think the world." --Chris Packham, broadcaster and naturalist

About the Author

ROWAN HOOPER is podcast editor at New Scientist and host of the New Scientist Weekly podcast. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology and worked in a conservation biology lab in Japan for five years, before joining The Japan Times in Tokyo and later taking up a fellowship in a physics lab at Trinity College Dublin. His writing has appeared in The Economist, The Guardian, Wired, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, and he is the author of Superhuman and How to Spend a Trillion Dollars. He lives in London with his partner and two daughters.