The Reading Warehouse

That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history. -Aldous Huxley

Human nature, sadly, always seems to prove Huxley right. Despite millennia of recurring personal and societal ills, humanity persists in demanding the quick fix-only to discover that the initial benefits rapidly give way to disadvantages anyone who respects history can easily foresee.

In Ain't We Got Fun, Dr. Robert H. Dubman looks to history to show how humanity's path is too often limited by emotions, habits, misdirected good intentions, and superficial information, both for individuals and entire nations. Through a series of insightful, sometimes controversial, essays, Dubman reveals how ill-conceived choices reverberate far beyond the realm of the individual-for good or ill.

Dubman deftly moves between topics to demonstrate how any issue, no matter how specific, has its counterpart in the past and how predictable patterns of human behavior influence-and often sabotage-outcomes. From war and mortality to fluoride in public water, the scope of an issue makes no difference. It's all happened before. And presuming humanity clings onto this fragile planet, it will all happen again.