Sweet in Tooth and Claw: Stories of Generosity and Cooperation in the Natural World

Journalist Ohlson (The Soil Will Save Us) pushes back against the Darwinian notion that “competition rules” in this vivid survey. Despite the popular notion that nature is a “vicious and never-ending battle of survival for meager resources,” Ohlson makes a solid case that the opposite is often true. She starts with the revolutionary findings of forest ecologist Suzanne Simard, which showed cooperation among trees that share nutrients via underground fungal networks. Ohlson then moves on to discoveries among other organisms—including symbiotic cyanobacteria, which “live side by side in floating communities”; Azya orbigera beetles, which “love to be with ants” per one ecologist; and beavers, which “reengineer” landscapes to feature “vibrant wetlands” where there was once “dust and gravel”—as well as the development of regenerative farming practices that are used to “protect soils from erosion and... add biodiversity.” Alongside the fascinating case studies, Ohlson reflects on her own connection to nature in oft-lyrical prose: “The wild grasses dried into tiny lacerating spears; if I stepped into them, my mother would be at my feet with tweezers and a needle, its tip still hot and black from being held to a flame.” This is as charming as it is enlightening. Photos. Agent: Kirsten Neuhaus, Ultra Literary. (Sept.)