World as Laboratory

“A lively and well-researched history of the human engineering field and its broad intellectual and social legacy.” —The San Francisco Chronicle

Deeply researched, World as Laboratory tells a secret history that's not really a secret. The fruits of human engineering are all around us: advertising, polls, focus groups, the ubiquitous habit of “spin” practiced by marketers and politicians. What Rebecca Lemov cleverly traces for the first time is how the absurd, the practical, and the dangerous experiments of the human engineers of the first half of the twentieth century left their laboratories to become our day-to-day reality.

“Eye-opening and persuasive.” —Publishers Weekly

“A balanced account of the behaviorists' crusade, Lemov's history provides crucial backstory to contemporary practices in psychology and mass media.” —Booklist

“An often enthralling history of the young science of human behavior and society.” —San Diego Union Tribune