A phenomenally important book. The story of why we humans evolved to become such a wonderfully cooperative, social species, and what that means for the world today. Nichola Raihani will change the way we think about ourselves.

This is a superb book about how important cooperation is in biology, from molecules and cells to families and whole societies.

The Social Instinct is surprising, thoughtful and, best of all, endlessly entertaining, examining the puzzle and power of co-operation from the decks of the HMS Bounty to the babbling birds of the Kalahari. Absolutely loved it.

Excellent and illuminating

A well-written book, easy to read - a pleasing juxtaposition of insightful scientific theory with illuminating anecdotes

Cooperation is at the heart of our bodies, our societies and our ecosystem. Nichola Raihani's stunning book flips the selfish gene on its head, showing us not only how to better understand the world, but also how to change it.

In this captivating book, Nichola Raihani ... provides a compelling argument that cooperation is the secret of human success and yet has never been as crucial as it is now, during a global pandemic and with the threat of the climate crisis. I found this intriguing and beautifully written book hard to put down.

How did our superpower of cooperation evolve against the odds? This engaging book wears its strong scientific credentials lightly. I could not put it down.

This is a glorious book, with an insight on every page. Above all it taught me that while our individual bodies and brains might reward comparison with our primate relatives, in understanding our social relations we would be much better off comparing the meerkat. And the naked mole-rat. And the bower bird. And the cleaner-fish.

If you've ever wondered why people aren't as cooperative as they ought to be, you'll find the answer right here - mapped out in detail that is full of surprises at every page-turn.

A fascinating exploration of the ties that bind us from our smallest cell to our grandest society. Raihani reveals the deep evolutionary roots of cooperation, drawing on her own extensive scholarship in an entertaining and insightful new look at the risks and rewards of collaborating.

A well informed, pithy, provocative overview of the evidence that cooperation is the key to success - for microbes and animals as well as for humans.

Raihani weaves a captivating tale through the tree of life, to show how our own societies are shaped by the same evolutionary games as other animals. A beautiful, compelling and unstoppable read... This book will change the way you view your own behaviour.

A fascinating deep dive into what makes us powerfully social creatures. Raihani takes us on a gripping journey from the Kalahari desert to modern city living. From economics to colonies of reef fish, cooperation is one of nature's marvels and Raihani is a compelling guide.

With colourful examples from ants to meerkats and cleaner fish to chimps, Raihani expertly explores the biology and dynamics of social interactions that underpin human cooperation and competition... Essential reading for everyone from ecologists to economists. Kept setting off idea fireworks in my brain!

The Social Instinct is filled with curious intellectual adventures at every turn [and] achieves the difficult task of being accessible to evolutionary novices and experts alike.... A must-read account for anyone with an interest in how cooperation has shaped the world around us.

From cells to cities, cooperation is one of the deepest trends in the living world - and one of real keys to our success as a species. Raihani does a great job of explaining where it came from and why it matters. An insightful, entertaining, and extremely informative book.

Nichola Raihani['s]... rewarding analysis ranges from genetics to politics, and from the individual to the international, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Social Instinct fascinatingly combines vivid descriptions of the rich varieties of cooperation that exist in the natural world with thoughtful insights into how cooperation between humans is in some ways surprisingly similar and in others very different. A great read.

In her energetic analysis, psychologist Nichola Raihani recontextualizes cooperation within the framework of evolution and reveals the competition for survival that still bubbles below its surface... Raihani offers insight into how our hardwired drive to cooperate could help us meet the challenges rushing at us, from pandemics to climate change.

Far and away the best non-fiction book this year

Wonderfully rich and insightful

A brilliant read

Essays true to psychoanalytic principles, but free from jargon; they have the quality of the best short stories.

Grosz is able to expand out creating universal themes and experiences that makes every chapter personally relevant to the reader. It is a fascinating process that challenges you to reflect honestly about your own experiences… Indeed this is both the perfect book for someone with no psychology background or someone who works in the area… I found this book extremely interesting… I would highly recommend to anyone wanting an interesting and fascinating social science read and it is a book you’ll remember long after reading.

Grosz’s vignettes are so brilliantly put together that they read like pieces of bare, illuminating fiction. . . utterly captivating

Marvellous… After reading [Grosz’s] absorbing accounts of his patients’ journeys you might feel that The Examined Life ought to be given out free at birth

Crystal-clear and completely magical…The Examined Life is a book full of troubles, but also of wonders

Engaging, frank, and with many penetrating insights. His short, succinct chapters have both the tension and the satisfaction of miniature detective or mystery stories

By turns edifying and moving…Grosz offers astute insights into the perplexities of everyday life

[Grosz's accounts] are shaped like short stories, but true and moving in ways that fiction cannot be […] distilled through long examination into finely crafted literary form…

Grosz’s message is always affirming…it is possible to change

Excellent… Every one of these case histories bears repeating. All offer worthwhile insights

Intelligent, human and deeply moving

'Grosz] writes lucidly and with sensitivity… sprinkled with wise reflections… A gem… highly recommended

[A] fine and moving book… It is a true literary work and a very modern one…

That rarest of pleasures: a book I loved, and could recommend to almost anyone

Enlightening…full of wisdom and insight

Beautifully unadorned writing... He paints a vivid portrait of his patients

A rare insight into the life of the psychoanalyst… succeeds in making complex behavioural issues accessible for any reader

Exquisitely written casebook

The suspense in each chapter is so expert that I had to double check that this wasn’t a work of fiction. Best of all, Grosz manages to give a jargon-free account of how psychoanalysis works

By turns edifying and moving… Grosz offers astute insights into the perplexities of everyday life

Grosz's vignettes are so brilliantly put together that they read like pieces of bare illuminating fiction... It is this combination of tenacious detective work, remarkable compassion and sheer, unending curiosity for the oddities of the human heart that makes these stories utterly captivating.

Brilliant…. Grosz is a superb writer, yes, but it is the stories his patients tell him that really make you marvel. An elegant, jargon-free expedition into the secret business of our minds written with such wisdom and kindness… After reading [Grosz’s] absorbing accounts of his patients’ journeys you might feel that The Examined Life out to be given out free at birth

A fine and moving book... The tact, patience and understatement, which are particular components of Grosz’s wisdom, remind the reader that this writer’s insights and empathy result from thousand of hours with patients. This book is not polemical literature… nor is it an academic work or a popular self-help book. It is a true literary work and a very modern one.

Crystal-clear and completely magical...The Examined Life is a book full of troubles, but also of wonders: it shows people trapped by their own mysterious impulses, searching for an escape hatch, and often finding it

Five star review - an intelligent, human and deeply moving book… Grosz is listening for the unspoken and the gaps in between. His book celebrates change and the triumphs and tragedies of humanity

Excellent… this book arrives like a box of chocolates. Thirty-one elegantly presented chapters which, when you bite into them, each reveals something sweet, rich or crunchy. Every one of these case histories bears repeating. All offer worthwhile insights.

Engaging, frank, and with many penetrating insights. His short, succinct chapters have both the tension and the satisfaction of miniature detective or mystery stories… A stimulating book.

Grosz writes lucidly and with sensitivity, treating his patients with respect. The cases are sprinkled with wise reflections... highly recommended

There are many sage lessons here, backed up by research where necessary…fascinating… Grosz writes lucidly and with sensitivity, treating his patients with respect. The cases are sprinkled with wise reflections…highly recommended

Intensely readable… As a reminder of the strangeness of human existence, the myriad ways we find of making ourselves unhappy and the perplexing resourcefulness of the unconscious mind, Grosz’s book is a worthwhile addition to the literature of the examined life.

Written with real elegance and a strong sense of structure… several chapters read like powerful short stories

Elegantly structured and written… Grosz’s book is intensely readable

Shaped like short stories, but true and moving in ways that fiction cannot be... Gradually accumulating through his book, Grosz provides, not a definition, but an enactment of the purpose of psychoanalysis, which is both modest and profound.

Grosz is an able writer, engaging, frank and with many penetrating insights. His short, succinct chapters have both the tension and the satisfaction of miniature detective or mystery stories… a stimulating book

[These] interpretations make fascinating reading, leave you marvelling at the ingenuity of the human subconscious. Grosz’s message is always affirming: if a person can work out what it is that’s driving them, it is possible to change

Grosz’s narrative is by turns edifying and moving...tempered by his engaging prose and moments of humour

I couldn't put this down—I read about other people, but learned about myself at the same time. Real stories can be so much more fascinating than fictional ones, especially with Stephen Grosz. No preaching, no clichés—just wisdom.

Modest and profound