"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...