Rowan Hooper

Stunning . . . My review copy of Togetherness is now peppered with marginal annotations of 'Wow!'

Hooper proves an eloquent advocate for his ideas. Symbiosis, he argues, ‘is fundamental to how life began, how it evolved, and how it operates’

Absolutely enthralling. I was hooked from the first sentence

This beautifully written and meticulously researched book makes a vivid and powerful case for symbiotic co-operation in evolution

Tremendous – a panorama, or cyclorama, or cosmorama of life

This book reshapes our ideas about science, nature and ourselves. The revelations in this book made me rethink the world'

Hooper challenges the idea that life is driven chiefly by competition, showing instead how deeply nature depends on co-operation. From figs and wasps to coral and gut microbes, this is an eye-opening account of symbiosis and survival

A clarion call for cooperation at a time when competition, chaos and cruelty seem to rule the day . . . This is a joyful book, of hope and wonder, which celebrates community as the true key to success in nature

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 . . . Utterly stunning and awe-inspiring. Everyone needs to read this book, now!

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

This book has both scientific chops and beautiful storytelling

An awe-inspiring journey . . . An exposé of our unbreakable connections with all life on Earth

The threads of all life on Earth are tightly woven together, and this book is a beautiful guide to that astonishing tapestry. Full of fascinating detail, it makes a compelling argument that there’s more to life than a winner-takes-all survival of the fittest. You will never see yourself, or the world around you, in the same way again

Who would have thought that so much of life depends on mutual interaction between species? This fascinating story of togetherness takes us through multiple forms of symbiosis in the natural world. From gut bacteria to fungi, algal bloom, deep-sea hydrothermal vents and ourselves, Hooper brings co-operation and teamwork to the fore in an upbeat and friendly narrative, rich in history and biological knowledge. A super book

The best books are those that give you a new perspective, but Togetherness . . . has given me something more than that – not just a new view, but a new way of seeing . . . Togetherness manages to be both hugely ambitious in scope and also very enjoyable

A celebration of the ubiquitous and wondrous partnerships of life found in the tiniest and grandest of collaborations

Symbiosis and the Hidden Story of Life’s Greatest Collaborations

From evolution to capitalism, ‘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. 
 
For the history of life on Earth is much more than a story of competition. The natural world has been forged and sustained by small miracles of co-operation between animals and plants, insects and fungi, fish and bacteria – these partnerships are ubiquitous, lifelong and are an essential guide for a better future. 
 
In Togetherness, Rowan Hooper reveals the intimate connectedness of nature through these remarkable stories of symbiosis. From the female wasp venturing deep inside a fig and the intricate relationship between corals and the algae that sustain them to the symbiotic gut microbes that influence our moods, he explores how co-operation is fundamental to life itself and to protecting our shared future. 
 
Togetherness will change the way you see the world, our place in it – and our obligation to its hidden wonders.

Rowan Hooper

Praise for Togetherness

Stunning . . . My review copy of Togetherness is now peppered with marginal annotations of 'Wow!'

[An] eye-opening book

Hooper proves an eloquent advocate for his ideas. Symbiosis, he argues, ‘is fundamental to how life began, how it evolved, and how it operates’

Stunning . . . My review copy of Togetherness is now peppered with marginal annotations of 'Wow!'

[An] eye-opening book

Hooper proves an eloquent advocate for his ideas. Symbiosis, he argues, ‘is fundamental to how life began, how it evolved, and how it operates’

Stunning . . . My review copy of Togetherness is now peppered with marginal annotations of 'Wow!'

[An] eye-opening book

Hooper proves an eloquent advocate for his ideas. Symbiosis, he argues, ‘is fundamental to how life began, how it evolved, and how it operates’

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