Jim Burwell The Early History of Alcoholics AnonymousOne of the first longtime sober members of AA talks about the people, events and the development of ideas and practices that created AA Ebby, Bill Wilson and the Oxford Group Hank Parkhurst, Ruth Hock and the Writing of the Big Book How AA Got the name Alcoholics Anonymous Jack Alexander and the Saturday Evening Post Article The 12 Traditions The Circumstances that Led Up to AA Self-Governance by the General Service Conference

Reprint of an edition published in New York in 1937 by Oxford University Press.

1000 Years of Sobriety features the moving personal accounts of twenty men and women who have each remained sober for more than fifty years. These are the real "old timers," keepers of the wisdom, men and women from around the world who are among the dwindling generations who joined Alcoholics Anonymous when Bill W. was still alive, and whose very commitment to sobriety is a testament to the enduring power of the program. The inspiring accounts collected here follow the time-tested formula used by millions of people who share their stories of hope in AA meetings every day: They tell us what they were like as active alcoholics, what triggered their decision to join AA, and the dramatic details of how they got sober--and how they've stayed sober for more than fifty years. Each story concludes with sage words of advice for others in recovery. Those who share their stories in 1000 Years of Sobriety are living proof that the human connection bonded by the Twelve Steps has unsurpassed powers, and that AA is a program for generations to come.

The pre-history of AA told by two of the people who were part of the most important events; Ebby Thatcher, the man who brought the message to Bill W. tells how he was helped to sobriety by Rowland Hazard and other Oxford Group members, how he carried the message to Bill and the early developments of the Alcoholics Anonymous fellowship. AA Co-Founder Bill Wilson talks about the two streams of influence that led to AA. First, Bill tells the story of Rowland Hazard; how having failed to get lasting sobriety with help from Doctor Carl Jung he took Jung's final piece of advice to immerse himself in some sort of spiritual program. How Rowland practicing the principles of the Oxford Group brought the message of sobriety to Ebby Thatcher. Then, during the second part of Bill's talk he tells how Dr. Silkworth came to an understanding of Alcoholism and its treatment and how Dr. Silkworth helped him. First by preparing Bill to receive the message, then by providing him a medical detox and professional assurance, and then giving him the advice that enabled him to carry the message to the other AA Co-Founder Dr. Bob Smith, Transcribed from Historic Sound RecordingsThe text is a direct transcript of the talks which are available at Audible.com/historyofrecovery

2011 Reprint of 1954 Edition. Richard Walker, the author of this work, is the second most popular Twelve Step recovery author in total sales, after Bill Wilson. Walker has helped untold numbers of alcoholics through his writings. "Twenty-Four Hours a Day" is a book of meditation, thought, and prayer that is soul inspiring, spiritually uplifting, and filled with sage words of wisdom. While geared toward members of Alcoholics Anonymous to help them in their daily program of recovery, the book has much to offer any individual who is working on self-improvement and personal growth, and who is searching for spiritual uplifting and guidance. The book is divided into the 365 days of the calendar year, offering a thought, meditation, and related short prayer on each day. Much of the material is based on the Big Book and other A.A. literature. A classic work.

This book is an inspiration for those uncomfortable with the "God bit" in 12 Step recovery meetings and fellowships. A History of Agnostics in AA is a perfect blend of two essential parts for a book of this sort: personal experience and research. The book is divided into three main parts: Our History, Problems in AA and Moving Forward. The history goes back to Jim Burwell, the first atheist in AA, and to the very first agnostic AA meetings. It also taps into the discrimination against nonbelievers in the fellowship. In the second part, several problems within Alcoholics Anonymous are discussed, and one of these turns out to be "Conference-approved" literature. Finally, the last part, Moving Forward, is all about a secular movement gaining momentum within AA, promising to make AA less God-focused, more inclusive and thus more modern. The author, Roger C, is the manager of the website AA Agnostica. He was the "resident atheist" at the Faculty of Religious Studies at McGill University for several years and was treated with genuine respect. It is hoped that over time a similar acceptance of nonbelievers in AA and other 12 Step recovery fellowships will be one of the results of A History of Agnostics in AA. Our hope is that Alcoholics Anonymous adapts and moves forward, with greater inclusivity. A History of Agnostics in AA is meant to contribute to that goal.

The Book That Started It All Hardcover

A fascinating account of the discovery and program of Alcoholics Anonymous, Not God contains anecdotes and excerpts from the diaries, correspondence, and occasional memoirs of AA's early figures. The most complete history of A.A. ever written, this book is a fast-moving and authoritative account of the discovery and development of the program and fellowship that we know today as Alcoholics Anonymous.

This is both a fascinating history of the formative years of Alcoholics Anonymous, as well as the bitter-sweet tale of the troubled man Bill W. always referred to as "my sponsor." In 1934, Ebby Thatcher called an old drinking buddy to tell him about the happiness he was finding in sobriety. His friend's name was Bill Wilson, and this book is the story of their life-long friendship. "Deeply informative and moving, a valuable contribution to the history of A.A. A 'must' reading for anyone interested in one of the more fascinating chapters in A.A.'s history."--Nell Wing, Retired A.A. Archivist and Bill Wilson's Secretary

Reveals the history of our struggle with alcoholism and the emergence of a search for sobriety that is as old as our nation. In Drunks, Christopher Finan introduces us to a colorful cast of characters who were integral in America’s moral journey to understanding alcoholism. There's the remarkable Iroquois leader named Handsome Lake, a drunk who stopped drinking and dedicated his life to helping his people achieve sobriety. In the early nineteenth century, the idealistic and energetic “Washingtonians,” a group of reformed alcoholics, led the first national movement to save men like themselves. After the Civil War, doctors began to recognize that chronic drunkenness is an illness, and Dr. Leslie Keeley invented a “gold cure” that was dispensed at more than a hundred clinics around the country. But most Americans rejected a scientific explanation of alcoholism. A century after the ignominious death of Charles Adams came Carrie Nation. The wife of a drunk, she destroyed bars with a hatchet in her fury over what alcohol had done to her family. Prohibition became the law of the land, but nothing could stop the drinking. Finan also tells the dramatic story of Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, who helped each other stay sober and then created AA, which survived its tumultuous early years and finally proved that alcoholics could stay sober for a lifetime. This is narrative history at its best: entertaining and authoritative, an important portrait of one of America’s great liberation movements and essential reading for anyone involved in the addiction community.