Togetherness: Symbiosis and the Hidden Story of Life's Greatest Collaborations by Hooper, Rowan

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.

Author: Rowan Hooper
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
Published: 08/18/2026
Pages: 416
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.35lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.20w x 1.50d
ISBN: 9780593802663

Review Citation(s):
Booklist 07/01/2026
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2026
Publishers Weekly 08/24/2026

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.