--- product_id: 193670510 title: "SuperCooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed" price: "€ 33.16" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.pt/products/193670510-supercooperators-altruism-evolution-and-why-we-need-each-other-to store_origin: PT region: Portugal --- # Highlight, note & search Multi-device reading Powerful in-book search SuperCooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed **Price:** € 33.16 **Availability:** βœ… In Stock ## Summary > πŸ“– Unlock the science of cooperation β€” because thriving together is the ultimate power move. ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** SuperCooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed - **How much does it cost?** € 33.16 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.pt](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/193670510-supercooperators-altruism-evolution-and-why-we-need-each-other-to) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - β€’ **Seamless Multi-Device Sync:** Read and annotate on Kindle, phone, tablet, or PC without missing a beat. - β€’ **Instant Search Functionality:** Find key concepts and quotes in seconds to stay ahead in any discussion. - β€’ **Top-Ranked Thought Leadership:** Join thousands of readers engaging with a #5 Sociology and #8 Game Theory bestseller. - β€’ **Cutting-Edge Evolutionary Science:** Explore how cooperation shapes humanity’s future with accessible, expert-driven content. - β€’ **Dynamic Highlighting & Note-Taking:** Capture insights instantly to build your personal knowledge hub. ## Overview SuperCooperators by Martin Nowak and Roger Highfield is a critically acclaimed Kindle e-book that explores the evolutionary science behind cooperation. Featuring advanced Kindle tools like highlighting, note-taking, and search, it’s optimized for multi-device reading. Ranked top 10 in Game Theory and Sociology categories, this book offers a rigorous yet accessible dive into how altruism and collaboration have shaped life and why they are essential for solving today’s global challenges. ## Description SuperCooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed - Kindle edition by Nowak, Martin, Highfield, Roger. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading SuperCooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed. Review: The Mechanics of Cooperation - I read a lot, but I rarely suggest books to people I am acquainted with (you know, people get sick of that sort of thing); however, since I finished reading this book, I can honestly say that this is the one volume I have actually recommended to my friends and family. This book covers a crucial aspect of our modern life and is far-and-away one of the most indispensable pieces of scientific writing I have read to date. For example, take this quote from the Preface: "Many problems that challenge us today can be traced back to a profound tension between what is good and desirable for society as a whole and what is good and desirable for an individual. That conflict can be found in global problems such as climate change, pollution, resource depletion, poverty, hunger, and overpopulation. The biggest issues of all - saving the planet and maximizing the collective lifetime of the species Homo sapiens - cannot be solved by technology alone. They require novel ways for us to work in harmony. If we are to continue to thrive, we have but one option. We now have to manage the planet as a whole. If we are to win the struggle for existence, and avoid a precipitous fall, there's no choice but to harness this extraordinary creative force. We now have to refine and to extend our ability to cooperate. We must become familiar with the science of cooperation. Now, more than ever, the world needs SuperCooperators." One reviewer called Martin Nowak a virtuoso, this is most certainly true, and it may even be an understatement. It would seem that Dr. Nowak has his hands in nearly every discipline and knows nearly everyone who is anyone in the scientific community. Furthermore, whether he's discussing Game Theory, Evolutionary Biology, Mathematics, Multi-Level Selection, Language, the Tragedy of the Commons, Networks, or Evolutionary Graph Theory, the writing is always vigorous, entertaining, and accessible. In essence, you could probably spend countless days reading works like: Darwin's Conjecture: The Search for General Principles of Social and Economic Evolution , Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions , A User's Guide to the Crisis of Civilisation: And How to Save it , Living within Limits: Ecology, Economics, and Population Taboos , Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed: Revised Edition , Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality , The Extended Mind: The Emergence of Language, the Human Mind, and Culture (Toronto Studies in Semiotics and Communication) , or Making the Social World: The Structure of Human Civilization , (like I have done) or, you could save yourself some time and read this one book. Martin Nowak and Roger Highfield have written an absolutely incredible book. I really can't recommend this book enough. Here is just one quote, of many, which I found to be sublime: "The story of humanity is one that rests on the never-ending creative tension between the dark pursuit of selfish short-term interests and the shining example of striving toward collective long-term goals. I believe we now understand how defection in the Prisoner's Dilemma can be trumped by cooperation. And, just as [Gustav] Mahler ends on an upbeat note, so I believe the emphasis on cooperation puts a more optimistic sheen on life than the traditional take on Darwin, which condemns all life to a protracted and bloody struggle for survival and reproduction. Mutation and natural selection are not enough in themselves to understand life. You need cooperation too. Cooperation was the principle architect of 4 billion years of evolution. Cooperation built the first bacterial cells, then higher cells, then complex multicellular life and insect superorganisms. Finally cooperation constructed humanity." The chapters are: 0) The Prisoner's Dilemma, 1) Direct Reciprocity - Tit for Tat, 2) Indirect Reciprocity - Power of Reputation, 3) Spatial Games - Chessboard of Life, 4) Group Selection - Tribal Wars, 5) Kin Selection - Nepotism, 6) Prelife, 7) Society of Cells, 8) The Lord of the Ants, 9) The Gift of Gab, 10) Public Goods, 11) Punish and Perish, 12) How Many Friends Are Too Many?, 13) Game, Set, and Match, and 14) Crescendo of Cooperation. There are a couple of books I would also encourage the interested reader to pursue after reading this book, Peter Corning's: The Fair Society: The Science of Human Nature and the Pursuit of Social Justice and Chris Martenson's: The Crash Course: The Unsustainable Future Of Our Economy, Energy, And Environment ) Review: Definitely Worth Reading - I enjoyed reading the book and its many ideas regarding the evolution of cooperation. I'm a bit of a Rip Van Winkle. Nearly four decades ago I had courses that assigned George Williams book, Adaptation and Natural Selection, and William D. Hamilton's classic articles. I thought that issues were pretty well settled. I recall reading J.D. Wilson's book on group selection. Intuition (not always reliable) tells me yes, it can happen, but do you really expect to find clear examples of it out there in nature? There's a political scientist, Peter Corning, who has written his entire career about what he calls the "synergy" hypothesis; I think it's a better word since it doesn't carry a lot of baggage that the word cooperation does. Those who read Nowak should also read Corning's books. Political scientists deal with power--the capacity to get others to do things that they would not otherwise do. It's sources are four: authority, coercion, persuasion, and inducements. The "games" that should be of most interest to political scientists are asymmetric. I'd like to see more research of the kind that Nowak and his team have done on asymmetric games. Policy analysts are only now starting to apply evolutionary principles to the design of public policy in ways that support, as Pinker called it, the "better angels of our nature." The book is definitely worth reading. Are the arguments right? Readers will have to sift through the evidence and decide on their own. ## Features - Highlight, take notes, and search in the book ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #183,704 in Kindle Store ( See Top 100 in Kindle Store ) #5 in Introduction to Sociology #8 in Game Theory (Kindle Store) #22 in Game Theory (Books) | ## Images ![SuperCooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71ptxWaa2ZL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Mechanics of Cooperation *by W***G on April 9, 2011* I read a lot, but I rarely suggest books to people I am acquainted with (you know, people get sick of that sort of thing); however, since I finished reading this book, I can honestly say that this is the one volume I have actually recommended to my friends and family. This book covers a crucial aspect of our modern life and is far-and-away one of the most indispensable pieces of scientific writing I have read to date. For example, take this quote from the Preface: "Many problems that challenge us today can be traced back to a profound tension between what is good and desirable for society as a whole and what is good and desirable for an individual. That conflict can be found in global problems such as climate change, pollution, resource depletion, poverty, hunger, and overpopulation. The biggest issues of all - saving the planet and maximizing the collective lifetime of the species Homo sapiens - cannot be solved by technology alone. They require novel ways for us to work in harmony. If we are to continue to thrive, we have but one option. We now have to manage the planet as a whole. If we are to win the struggle for existence, and avoid a precipitous fall, there's no choice but to harness this extraordinary creative force. We now have to refine and to extend our ability to cooperate. We must become familiar with the science of cooperation. Now, more than ever, the world needs SuperCooperators." One reviewer called Martin Nowak a virtuoso, this is most certainly true, and it may even be an understatement. It would seem that Dr. Nowak has his hands in nearly every discipline and knows nearly everyone who is anyone in the scientific community. Furthermore, whether he's discussing Game Theory, Evolutionary Biology, Mathematics, Multi-Level Selection, Language, the Tragedy of the Commons, Networks, or Evolutionary Graph Theory, the writing is always vigorous, entertaining, and accessible. In essence, you could probably spend countless days reading works like: Darwin's Conjecture: The Search for General Principles of Social and Economic Evolution , Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions , A User's Guide to the Crisis of Civilisation: And How to Save it , Living within Limits: Ecology, Economics, and Population Taboos , Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed: Revised Edition , Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality , The Extended Mind: The Emergence of Language, the Human Mind, and Culture (Toronto Studies in Semiotics and Communication) , or Making the Social World: The Structure of Human Civilization , (like I have done) or, you could save yourself some time and read this one book. Martin Nowak and Roger Highfield have written an absolutely incredible book. I really can't recommend this book enough. Here is just one quote, of many, which I found to be sublime: "The story of humanity is one that rests on the never-ending creative tension between the dark pursuit of selfish short-term interests and the shining example of striving toward collective long-term goals. I believe we now understand how defection in the Prisoner's Dilemma can be trumped by cooperation. And, just as [Gustav] Mahler ends on an upbeat note, so I believe the emphasis on cooperation puts a more optimistic sheen on life than the traditional take on Darwin, which condemns all life to a protracted and bloody struggle for survival and reproduction. Mutation and natural selection are not enough in themselves to understand life. You need cooperation too. Cooperation was the principle architect of 4 billion years of evolution. Cooperation built the first bacterial cells, then higher cells, then complex multicellular life and insect superorganisms. Finally cooperation constructed humanity." The chapters are: 0) The Prisoner's Dilemma, 1) Direct Reciprocity - Tit for Tat, 2) Indirect Reciprocity - Power of Reputation, 3) Spatial Games - Chessboard of Life, 4) Group Selection - Tribal Wars, 5) Kin Selection - Nepotism, 6) Prelife, 7) Society of Cells, 8) The Lord of the Ants, 9) The Gift of Gab, 10) Public Goods, 11) Punish and Perish, 12) How Many Friends Are Too Many?, 13) Game, Set, and Match, and 14) Crescendo of Cooperation. There are a couple of books I would also encourage the interested reader to pursue after reading this book, Peter Corning's: The Fair Society: The Science of Human Nature and the Pursuit of Social Justice and Chris Martenson's: The Crash Course: The Unsustainable Future Of Our Economy, Energy, And Environment ) ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Definitely Worth Reading *by P***D on June 26, 2017* I enjoyed reading the book and its many ideas regarding the evolution of cooperation. I'm a bit of a Rip Van Winkle. Nearly four decades ago I had courses that assigned George Williams book, Adaptation and Natural Selection, and William D. Hamilton's classic articles. I thought that issues were pretty well settled. I recall reading J.D. Wilson's book on group selection. Intuition (not always reliable) tells me yes, it can happen, but do you really expect to find clear examples of it out there in nature? There's a political scientist, Peter Corning, who has written his entire career about what he calls the "synergy" hypothesis; I think it's a better word since it doesn't carry a lot of baggage that the word cooperation does. Those who read Nowak should also read Corning's books. Political scientists deal with power--the capacity to get others to do things that they would not otherwise do. It's sources are four: authority, coercion, persuasion, and inducements. The "games" that should be of most interest to political scientists are asymmetric. I'd like to see more research of the kind that Nowak and his team have done on asymmetric games. Policy analysts are only now starting to apply evolutionary principles to the design of public policy in ways that support, as Pinker called it, the "better angels of our nature." The book is definitely worth reading. Are the arguments right? Readers will have to sift through the evidence and decide on their own. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Future of Biology *by J***J on July 15, 2011* Martin Nowak is perhaps the most distinguished mathematical biologist currently alive. His scientific credentials make my favorite science writer, Richard Dawkins (Nowak's former colleague at Oxford), look like an amateur bird watcher. Unlike Dawkins, his writing is not great. Nowak's first language isn't English, and a coauthor helped make the book more readable. Yet the incredible scope of ideas toured through in SuperCooperators more than compensates for the paisley prose, and there are some entertaining narrative gems mixed in, too. It's hard to imagine that someone could make mathematical models with even a little resemblance to cancer, the origin of life, global politics, friendship, the evolution of language, and cycles of human history. Some of the simplifications are a stretch (a few test the limits of credulity), yielding several conclusions that can seem over-reaching and under-grounded, but the reader is free to draw her own conclusions. As a final criticism, at more than a few points the primary author's voice seems a bit smug and self-congratulatory. Despite all this, I find myself talking about the ideas presented in this book on an almost daily basis, talking to friends and strangers alike--it's full of brilliantly illuminating fuel for thought. The scope of Nowak's research is fantastically ambitious, and recent work by him and numerous others ushers in a new paradigm within biology: cooperation as the unifying principle for increasing adaptive complexity. SuperCooperators provides tantalizing glimpses into this advancing discipline, into the driving force behind step functions of increased order, and into the history and future of life and civilization. Despite my reservations about the writing, I feel compelled to give it 5 stars on intellectual breadth and novelty. Expert readers will find it a quick and engaging tour, but will need to refer to the original articles for more rigor. General audience readers will find this book largely accessible, sometimes a pleasure to read (though occasionally cringe-worthy), and entirely a pleasure to think about! --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - πŸ›’ **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** β€” Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** β€” Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - πŸ’° **No Hidden Fees** β€” All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - πŸ”„ **15-Day Free Returns** β€” Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - πŸ”’ **Secure Payments** β€” Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** β€” Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.pt/products/193670510-supercooperators-altruism-evolution-and-why-we-need-each-other-to](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/193670510-supercooperators-altruism-evolution-and-why-we-need-each-other-to) --- *Product available on Desertcart Portugal* *Store origin: PT* *Last updated: 2026-05-13*