The subtitle, "Why Civilizations Fail" is descriptive of the content of this work, which offers in fewer than 5,000 words, a comprehensive view of history -- and of our own era as well. FIRST PARAGRAPH: "An unexpected flash of clarity more than thirty-five years ago in Laguna Beach illuminated for me in an unforgettable way what has made us function individually and collectively from earliest civilizations to our day. Consisting of three words – Survival Overcompensation Trauma and their telling acronym, SOT – this momentary enlightenment may also help explain why previous civilizations had failed and our own is not immune to this fate." ON FATE OF CIVILIZATIONS: "Are we doomed always to live in a world where we suffered and died because there wasn't enough -- or in a world where we suffer and die because we don't know how to handle plenitude?" "Will we adopt healthier lifestyles and reverse the trend to obesity before SOT’s pleasures turn us into mush? Will we be able to solve the problem of public and private indebtedness before the situation spirals irrevocably out of control? Will we be able to safeguard our environment before our environment poisons us? Will we be able to eliminate nuclear weapons before they eliminate us? Will we be able to transition to the pursuit of higher altruistic pleasures before our selfishness tears apart the delicately interwoven fabric of our democratic societies – and of the world?" "A million years hence, should anyone care for a brief explanation of our demise, the Torah/Old Testament tale of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden would say perfectly well just about all that needed to be said. Yes, they too had everything and wanted more."