A History of the Big Book - Alcoholics Anonymous

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HISTORY OF THE BIG BOOK

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

If you are going to speak on the history of A.A. -- there are many events and influences that lead to the development of the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. One of the most important -- Roland Hazard, a wealthy Rhode Island industrialist, in 1931, after many attempts to quit drinking, became a patient of Dr. Carl Jung. This story is found on pages 26 and 27 in the 3rd. Edition of the Big Book. Roland first tried to see Sigmund Freud, but Freud was fighting bone cancer and was not seeing any new patients. Roland then tried to see Alfred Adler, another of the world?s leading psychiatrists, but Adler was unable to see him either. So Roland ended up with Carl Jung. How fortunate for us. Freud may have had Roland studying his dreams and Adler was into individual psychology -- neither of which may have likely told Roland what Jung told him during the year spent working with him. Roland was released, but got drunk before he got home. When he returned, Jung told Roland that he had made a mistake and had badly misdiagnosed him. Jung said, " You have the mind of a chronic alcoholic. I have never seen one single case recover, where that state of mind existed to the extent that it does in you. (However, there are exceptions) here and there. Once in a while alcoholics have had what are called vital spiritual experiences. (See page 27 in the 3rd Edition of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous) ...which releases them from their obsessions."

So Roland was treated, released, and went to look for a spiritual solution. What he found was a fellowship known as The Oxford Group, a religious movement at the height of its popularity, mainly throughout Europe and The United States. In the Spring of 1934 Roland was staying in Vermont with a couple of the Oxford Groupers, Cebra Graves and Shep Cornell. Cebra?s father, Collins Graves, was a judge, and was about to sentence Ebby to six months in the state hospital because of his drinking. Roland, being the good Oxford Group member that he was, went to court and convinced Judge Graves to release Ebby to his custody. Ebby was staying at their family summer home in Vermont, trying to paint the house, when a flock of pigeons stopped buy for a visit. He got out the shotgun and began blasting away -- which bothered the neighbors -- who summoned the authorities, who arrested him.

By the Fall of 1934, Ebby was living in New York at the Calvary Mission, which was

run by the Rev. Sam Shoemaker, an Episcopalian minister and the head of the Oxford Group in the United States -- one of Frank Buchman?s top assistants. Shoemaker?s Calvary Church was the American headquarters for the Oxford Group. Later, near November, Ebby Thatcher, who was an old friend of Bill Wilson?s, learned about Bill's drinking and called him at home, then went to visit him. Ebby and Bill had first met back in 1911. The Thatchers were a prominent family from Albany, New York, who summered in Manchester, New York, which was just a few miles from where Bill grew up. Bill lived with his grandparents after his parents divorced in 1906. Bill was sent to The Burr & Burton Seminary -- a private school in Manchester. Ebby and Bill actually had been classmates for one year and remained friends over the years. In early 1929, Bill visited Ebby in Albany before the stock market crashed, at which time Bill was still pretty well off financially. Ebby had been hanging around a bunch of "barnstormers" and somehow Bill and Ebby talked one of the flyers into flying them back to Manchester to open up the new air strip. So they wired ahead, announcing their arrival. When they arrived, the town had organized a welcoming committee -- brass band and all.

When the plane landed, Bill and Ebby were so drunk they could hardly walk. This was very embarrassing to Bill, and he felt great remorse. He had to write many letters and made a lot of apologies. So these were the likes of things Bill and Ebby discussed as they sat in the kitchen on Clinton Street in late 1934. Bill noticed something different about his friend during the visit, and Ebby told him he was not drinking. Bill queried, "What?s this all about?"

"I have got religion," Ebby told Bill. This was of great interest to Bill. He thought if this will help Ebby, it will make a genius out of me, so he decided to visit Calvary Mission, to investigate. The problem was, by the time he arrived he was stone drunk, but he made the alter call anyway, even though he barely remembered later. Shortly after, on December 11, 1934, he ended up in Charles Towns Hospital. Bill had his last drink, and a few days later had his spiritual experience. Later he discussed all of his shortcomings with Ebby, who acquainted him with the principles of the Oxford Group, and assured him when these things were done, he would enter into a relationship with his Creator -- which would solve all of his problems.

Most of you know how Bill got sober and of the trip to Akron in the spring of 1935. Bill had formed a group who was trying to do a hostile takeover of the National Rubber Machine Company, which is still in Akron. (This is a must-see if you visit Akron. It is not easy to find, but you can find it!) You all know the story of how Bill called on Dr. Bob and helped him get sober, then went back to New York, and started sobering up drunks there. They trudged along for about two years and Bill had actually gotten a job back on Wall Street. About the same time in 1937, Quaw & Foley had just let him go, and while Sam Shoemaker was on vacation, the associate pastor, Jack Smith, delivered a speech during an Oxford Group meeting at Calvary Church. His subject was, "A diversion at work of a secret subgroup, which were not really Maximum." This sermon was aimed directly at Bill and Lois and their group of drunks, which later became known as the Manhattan Group. Bill and his group had increasingly become the target of some of the Oxford Group mentors in the preceding months. The more vociferous Oxford Group mainstreamers were increasingly insistent that the drunks follow "guidance" and the group fundamentals of The Four Absolutes: Absolute Purity, Absolute Unselfishness, Absolute Honesty, Absolute Love. The Four Absolutes were first printed in a book called "The Principles Of Jesus" in 1902, which was written by Robert Speer. These can be found on page 35 of that book. Speer was deeply involved in the Northfield Student Movement, foreign missionary work, and Princeton University. Another pertinent book is titled "The Will of God and A Man?s Life Work," by Henry B. Wright in 1916. Wright was one of Oxford Group founder Frank Buchman?s college professors, and was chairman of religion at Yale University, also involved in the Northfield Student Movement. This volume has many ideas regarding the absolutes, beginning on page 166, as well as making a decision to turn your will and life over to the care of God. Bill thought this attack by Jack Smith and his sermon was "...just about enough." The alcoholics needed to believe in something greater than themselves. Bill believed that adhering to the principles, believing in each other, and the strength of the group could get them sober!

They had seen these things in the Oxford Group. It was quite amazing what the "groupers" could do, but many sober alcoholics felt discomfort with the principles of the aggressive evangelism so prominent in the Oxford Group. I know of few members who have felt okay with that problem -- as in when a member from another group approached with a question like, "Who is your sponsor?" Or, "How many meetings do you go to?" Or, "Where is your home group?" Most drunks do not like these types of questions from someone they don?t know or respect, at least not in my experience. Early experience had revealed to the New York alcoholics that these principles, which may have been absolutely vital to the success of the Oxford Group, would seldom touch neurotics of our hue. Thus, the stage is set for one of our questionable dates in AA history.

According to Lois? diary, Bill went to Akron in July of 1937 to talk about separation from the New York Oxford Group. Bill seems to think this happened in November of 1937 and it is true that he also made a trip to Akron in November. In January of 1937, Bill had gotten a new Wall Street job. This time with Quaw And Foley -- stockbrokers who he had done some investing for in the East and Midwest.

The business depression returned toward the end of 1937 and Quaw and Foley let Bill go. He then went to Detroit and Cleveland looking for job ideas. On the way home he stopped in Akron to visit Dr. Bob and discuss the break in New York from the Oxford Group. As Bill and Bob reminisced that day, they realized that in spite of all the drunks who had come and gone, they had more than 40 people who had stayed sober -- many of them with two years or more. They realized they had truly hit on something remarkable. Conceivably, this could one day circle the world. They wept with joy as gratitude overwhelmed them. What a tremendous realization this was! At last they were sure that they had a solution. Anne joined them and they bowed their heads in silent thanks. Then came the very sobering thought that this knowledge was still in the hands of too few. Does every alcoholic have to go to Akron or New York to get well? No -- that would never do! What then? How would they carry and spread the message? How could they cling together and carry the message to the distant alcoholic?

They discussed three ideas: literature, missionaries, and a hospital. Dr. Bob was not too sure of the need for missionaries or a chain of hospitals, but really supported the idea of a book. So together they presented all three ideas to a group of eighteen sober men in Akron.

I would like you to think just a little about the situation in 1937. Lois was making $22 a week and supporting the whole family. My experience is that most alcoholics relate to how things are in their life today -- right now or in the very near past. If you stop and think about this, in 1937, people did not have the resources we have today. They were not bringing home $800 or $900 per week. They were bringing home $15 or $20 per week.

Things were altogether different from what they are today. Bill had been a millionaire -- very well off financially. He had made a lot of money in the stock market and with the stock market crash, along with his alcoholism, Bill and Lois were broke. Do you think Bill was really interested in writing a book? Do you think his primary goal was to write a book that would inspire other alcoholics to stop drinking? I doubt this would have been his goal. I think he was looking for something else. I have no proof of this, but I think the idea of paid missionaries sounded pretty good to him. He had been offered a job by Charles Townes, though the Manhattan Group would not let him accept it. In fact, there was a fellow, Charles Clapp, an Oxford Grouper, who Bill had helped get sober in October of 1935. Charles had been working with Sam Shoemaker, but could not stay sober until he got help from Bill. Charles wrote a book called "The Big Bender" that relates that story. Clapp was from Bedford Hills. His book was written around 1938 and in 1942 he wrote another book called "Drunks Are Square Pegs." In that book he wrote that now that he understood everything about alcoholism, it would be possible for him to drink and control his drinking if he chose. In the A.A. Grapevine of about May 1945, he wrote that now that he had returned to Alcoholics Anonymous, that had you read his second book, to please disregard that information. I just wanted to add that note because we seldom hear about Charles, even though we do know about him, and I believe he was a member. Whether he stayed sober I do not know, although he did write another book, "Drinking Is Not The Problem," which was published in 1948.

The book, paid missionaries, and a chain of hospitals -- Bill and Bob discussed these possibilities, first together and then at T. Henry and Clarece Williams' Oxford Group meeting. Paid workers could serve as missionaries, specializing in the treatment of alcoholism. Missionaries were an up and coming idea since the beginning of the century, starting with the Emmanuel Movement of Dr. Elwood Worchester, with lay therapists in 1908, with Courtney Baylor and on to Richard Peabody. (Rowland Hazard had received treatment from Courtney Baylor.) This would include a chain of hospitals, construction and management and -- above all -- their experiences and methods must be put on paper. Variations of the method were already apparent. Nothing was set in concrete at this time.

Bill well realized the possibility of the distortion and garbling of the message, which was sure to occur. It became obvious the movement would have to have literature.


BILL ARGUES THE PROS AND CONS OF THE IDEAS

The initial reaction of the group was to reject all three ideas. Bill and Dr. Bob argued on. The conservatives argued, "The Man Of Galilee had no press agents, no newspaper, no pamphlets, no books -- nothing but word of mouth to carry the spirit from person to person and group to group. Were we about to substitute ballyhoo for personal demonstration? Were we about to favor a personal glorification in public for peace, quietness, humility and anonymity?" Bill and Bob began to realize they were not the government of this nameless bunch of drunks. The conservatives retorted that while promoters had built many a successful enterprise, they had almost always bankrupted what they had built if they were left in charge long enough. The promoters responded that within gunshot there were perhaps hundreds who could get well only if they knew what we know. What about the boys in California? Would they have to wait for the word of mouth to reach them? And wasn?t there grave danger of the word being distorted without a written record of what we had done? Couldn?t the columnists get funny and start deadly ridicule? Didn?t we need a book of our own and some publicity?

Finally, a vote was taken among those present. The Akronites consented to go along with all three ideas. The vote was taken and narrowly approved. If a lot of money needed to be raised, Bill had better go back to New York and raise it! Although, the idea that going into business and hiring paid missionaries might destroy this struggling fellowship eventually proved correct. "Thanks for the conservatives!" Bill remarked later. On the other hand, had nothing at all been done, Alcoholics Anonymous might have gotten no where at all. The majority of the Akron meeting had given Bill their permission to do whatever he wanted. The New York group turned out to be even more encouraging to Bill. Most of them were as grandiose as Bill and agreed the book was of primary importance. They felt raising money for such a noble cause would be no problem at all. This fellowship was surely one of the greatest medical and spiritual developments of all time. So AA?s first and last crusade got off to a flying start. Armed with a list of wealthy prospects to raise funds, the promoters were astonished to find after six weeks they had gotten nowhere! "Well, Mr. Wilson," they told him, "30 or 40 sober -- this is nothing, this has been done before -- and don?t you think the money might be better served with the Salvation Army, Community Chest, or The Red Cross?" Quite angry and depressed, Bill visited his brother-in-law, Dr. Leonard Strong, for another appointment for his anxiety attacks and delivered a scathing attack on the stinginess and short sightedness of the wealthy. Leonard had heard all of this before. "I?ve got an idea," Leonard said, "I share my office with another doctor who is also the Health Commissioner here in New York, or was, let's go in and talk to him about this." Bill went in -- got all steamed up -- and gave his little pep talk about the development that was taking place. The doctor listened with a very sympathetic ear. He said, "The Rockefeller Foundation might be just the thing for you. I don?t know, as the Foundation would be the thing, they wouldn?t quite pigeon-hole it. I don?t think those fellows over there would quite get the idea. They feel kind of poor, you know -- there is a depression going on. The man you want to see is Mr. John D. Rockefeller, personally." "Well," Bill said, "how about the Prince of Wales!"

Then came one of those providential turning points -- on what little events do our lives sometimes turn! Bill?s brother-in-law stood by -- scratching his head, and said, "You know, I used to know a girl in high school who I think had an uncle named Richardson, and I believe that somehow he was a rather close friend of the Rockefellers, and was somehow tied up with their charitable enterprises. I don?t even know if that old gentleman is still alive, but?Bill, would you like me to call over there? just call up the Rockefeller Offices and see if they know of such a man?"

"Well," Bill said, "that will be just fine, because it didn?t sound like a very big probability, everything considered," so Leonard called up and instantly the old man spoke, startling the disbelieving caller: "Why, Leonard! Where have you been ? I haven?t seen you in all these years!" And Leonard replied, "I?ve got a relative here that?s been fussing around with alcoholics, and think they?ve got quite a number fixed, and we?d like to come over and talk to you about them!" And, much to Bill?s surprise, the old man said, "Well, come right over!"

So Bill and Leonard went right over. Leonard saw a man in the hallway who said, "I hear you?re going to see Mr. Richardson ? if you want anything from Mr. Rockefeller, that?s the fellow to see!" Then they went right up the elevator to room 5600, Rockefeller?s private office ? and walked straight in. And so Bill walked right in on an old family friend of the Rockefellers...just like that!

Bill thought their troubles were over, "We?ve got the truck backed right up, John D. is going to love it...I mean it?s sociology, and it?s medicine, and it?s religion, and it?s alcohol all in one package. It?ll be a cinch!" Richardson turned out to be a very kindly, but a very shrewd man. Bill told the story and Richardson said, "How would you like to come back and have lunch with me?" So Bill went back in a week and had lunch with him and told him more of the story. Richardson asked Bill if he would mind talking to some of his friends and Bill was delighted. Richardson told Bill that he?d "...get a little gathering together and you bring in some of the local drinkers?the alcoholics?and we?ll talk things over."

So in late December of 1937, a meeting was set up. Included in this meeting were

Richardson, Dr. Strong, Bill, Dr. Bob, Dr. Silkworth, some of the New York group, and some of the Akron group along with Albert Scott, Chairman of the Trustees of Riverside Church, Frank Amos, an advertising man close to Rockefeller, and A.LeRoy Chipman, an associate who looked after Rockefeller?s real estate affairs.

This historic meeting was chaired by Albert Scott. The alcoholics sat mute at first, then someone suggested they tell their stories. Bill, Dr. Bob, Hank Parkhurst, Fitz Mahugh, and Ned P. from Akron spoke up and left deep impressions on their listeners. Finally, the chairman stood and said, "Why, this is first century Christianity! What can we do to help?"

Bill explained they needed money to move forward. Scott asked if this wouldn?t be a risky procedure, "Wouldn?t money spoil this thing? Wouldn?t property and managing people and investing capital confuse and jeopardize what you have?" Of course, this was quite disconcerting to the group of alcoholics, but they had considered the possibilities and that doing nothing would be worst of all.

Finally, the Rockefeller group conceded that the drunks would need some money. Amos, an Ohio native, promised to make an investigation, and the Akron Group and Dr. Bob were the first to be looked into. Amos used a fine-toothed comb, questioning local citizens and associates of Dr. Bob. He went to several meetings and interviewed each member. Scott recommended that Rockefeller grant them $50,000; this could pay down Dr. Bob?s mortgage and make a down payment on a hospital. Richardson added his own account to the report and sent it on to Rockefeller, who was favorably impressed and also noted the similarity to first century Christianity. But Rockefeller, too, was deeply concerned that a large amount of money might ruin the entire movement, which was very bad news to the struggling drunks at the time. He did, however, put $5,000 in the treasury of the Riverside Church, where the early AA?s could draw on it as needed. Rockefeller added two requests: "Please do not ask for anything more. However, please keep me informed as to how you are doing." (What the AA?s did not know at the time was that when the Rockefeller Foundation decided to support a project, they always saw it through to its conclusion?no matter what the outcome.)

The sum of $3,000 was used to pay off Dr. Bob?s mortgage, while he and Bill W. received $30 a week to carry on their work. The prospect of paid missionaries and special hospitals looked very dim, indeed, and Richardson, Amos, Chipman and Dr.Strong were disappointed?to the delight of the alcoholic group. Efforts to raise funds to promote the publication of a book were renewed, and frequent meetings were again held. It turns out the Rockefeller group was interested in the book project because Albert Scott and Leonard Harrison had both written books on prohibition. "Toward Liquor Control" was co-written by Scott and Raymond Fosdick, the brother of Harry Emerson Fosdick, the prominent theologian and minister. Leonard Harrison, later to become Chairman of the Board of The Alcoholic Foundation, wrote a book entitled "After Repeal..."

By Spring of 1938, Bill was being pressured to write promotional material. Also at this time it became evident that the group needed a foundation, so a young attorney named John Wood, a friend of Frank Amos, was hired. Bill thought it would be appropriate for the trustees of the new foundation to be balanced, weighted with non- alcoholics. Wood asked, "What is the difference between an alcoholic and a non-alcoholic?" "It is very simple," he was told, "An alcoholic CAN?T drink, and a non-alcoholic CAN drink!" "Well how do we state that legally?" he asked. No one knew. (The 1986-87 Edition of The A.A. Service Manual combined with Twelve Concepts For World Service says, "...those who do not share our disease but willingly share our problems..." p.103.)

The name "The Alcoholic Foundation" was chosen to leave open all sorts of possibilities for future endeavors. Members of the first board of trustees were Dick Richardson, Frank Amos, John Wood, Bill Ruddell, and Dr. Bob. Ruddell almost immediately got drunk and was replaced by another New York member, Harry Brick. Dr. Strong was secretary and Chipman was treasurer. Bill served on the eight member advisory board, which advised the directors. This was made up of a majority of alcoholics.

Some time in early 1938, Bill began writing what was to become our basic text, the lifeline of Alcoholics Anonymous, later to be known as the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. He would pace back and forth, dictating to Ruth Hock, the secretary of Honor Dealers, a small business owned by Hank Parkhurst. Hank was Bill?s first sober drunk from Townes Hospital.

Hank was trying to organize the independent gas dealers on the East Coast into a group to wholesale service station products, and had given Bill and Jim Burwell jobs as salesmen. Bill once wrote that Hank had at least one idea a minute. Bill?s previous writing experience had been limited to financial reports in the 1920s, and so the new effort was nearly overwhelming him. He most likely wrote "Chapter 2 --There Is A Solution," before he penned his own story?which later became "Chapter 1 -- Bill?s Story," which is how it appeared in early promotional material. It seemed Bill didn?t yet know if he was producing promotional material or writing a book. During an early Fall meeting of the trustees, Frank Amos popped up with an idea from one of his friends?Gene Exman?one of the religious editors of Harpers Magazine. (Bill went to meet Exman, who was quite pleased with what Bill had written and said he could probably get an advance of $1,500 "If it could help things along." This would be deducted from the sale of the books when finished.

Bill was uneasy with the thought that an outsider might end up in control of the group?s major asset. He reported the offer to the trustees and they were very happy, but they could not understand Bill?s conclusion and dismay. They pointed out authors very seldom publish their own works, a well-known fact. The meeting ended with no conclusion.

Parkhurst, who had been sober about two years and had been the assistant general sales manager for Standard Oil of New Jersey, asked Bill, "Why do we bother with those trustees, they have not raised a cent and they are not going to, either. Let?s put this proposed book on a business basis and form a stock company. We?ll sell shares to our own folks." Still, the trustees were skeptical, so Bill went back to see Exman who agreed the membership should print its own book. The New York Group and Dr. Bob agreed but the rest of the Akron Group was skeptical.

It looked as if the Big Book could be produced for 35 cents each and sold to the general public for $3.50 a book. (NOTE: The author left this note here: "Talk here about the cost of living in 1938." Of course, the cost of living was a small percentage of today?s c-o-l, as an example, gas cost only a few pennies per gallon versus about $2 per gallon for supreme grade today [March 2001].)

Hank worked out a prospectus for the new publishing company, which they called "The 100 Men Corporation." They would offer 600 shares for sale at $25 par value [$25 for each share]. Hank went down to a stationary store, bought blank stock certificates, typed in his full name, followed by the title "President." The name of the publishing company was "Works Publishing Co.," but the corporation was not registered until several years later. Hank and Bill were each to keep 200 shares for their work on the book, the balance of the 200 shares would be sold for $25 per share. This would raise the $5,000 needed to publish the book. Hank button-holed every member in New York, persuading and brow beating them one-by-one, while Bill followed him around trying to smooth things over, but with all their expertise they still could not sell the certificates.

Then Hank had another idea: Why not get a magazine to do an article about the book and the group? Dr.Silkworth was renting a house from the publisher-owner of the Reader?s Digest, a Mr.Williams. Every month Dr. Silkworth sent his rent to Mr.Walters, who was president of the magazine ? which had a circulation of 12 million readers at that time. So Bill and Hank prevailed upon Dr. Silkworth to send copies of the first two chapters of the Big Book to Walters with a recommendation of the new organization and its founders. That is how they got in touch with Kenneth Payne, the managing editor of the Reader?s Digest. So Bill and Hank sped off to see Payne, who seemed quite interested -- and assured them the magazine would want to run an article when the book was ready to hit the streets.

Now they had some real ammunition to drum up support for the book, something to really sink their teeth into. Now the former doubters began to sign up?but nearly everyone was broke, so they offered the stock on the installment plan, $5 a month for five months. Most could only afford a single share. When the trustees were informed of the good luck, they signed up, too. Dr. Silkworth and Dr. Tiebout pitched in, and a few of Bill?s Wall Street friends chipped in a little. Charles Towns loaned them $2,500. But he would not buy stock, he wanted a note for security!

Eventually, the 200 shares were sold. Finally, the subscribers felt they would eventually get their money back, so everyone got behind the deal. And Bill began making notes on legal pads, settling down to actually writing the Big Book. William James much influenced Bill by what he referred to as the "conversion experience" in a series of lectures at the University of Edinburgh in 1896, known as the Gifford Lectures, which later were published in the book "Varieties of Religious Experience." Here he told the conversion story of Samuel Hopkins Hadley (Lecture IX, "Conversion"). Hadley was helped to get sober by Jerry McAuley at his Water Street Mission. McAuley was an advocate of public confession and conversion, very much like the Oxford Group ? to which Bill had belonged. Hadley?s son, Henry Harrison Hadley, was converted three days after his father?s death in 1906, and became a missionary like his father, and helped open Calvary Mission in New York City with Rev. Shoemaker in 1926. Bill Wilson made his first visit to Calvary Mission on about December 7, 1934, four days before his last admittance to Townes Hospital. This could very well account for the influence on Bill?s fascination with the conversion experience whether he realized it or not. He had researched much religious material as well as Richard Peabody?s "Common Sense Of Drinking," and perhaps the works of Charles B. Townes, although it is not well known that Charles Townes wrote three important books on alcoholism: "Habits That Handicap" (1915), "Reclaiming The Drinker"(1931), and "Alcohol And Drug Sickness"(1934). Townes was emphatic about never talking down to an alcoholic, or scolding a man that you are trying to help.

As Fate would have it, Bill trained at the Officers Training Camp at Plattsburgh, New York, during the Summer of 1917, and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Coastal Artillery. During the Summer, Richard Rodgers Peabody trained there and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Artillery. Here are a few phrases from Peabody?s aforementioned book:

"Half measures were of no avail..." p.99;

"Once a drunkard always a drunkard..." p.82;

"The story of the retired businessman..." p.123.

Next Bill tackled "We Agnostics." He had been at least a functional agnostic, as most likely were Dr. Bob, Burwell, Parkhurst, and Horace Crystal. And quite certainly there were atheists and agnostics who were against "...all of this God stuff...," but Fitz Mahugh was greatly religious, and most of the Akron group was deeply seated in Oxford Group principles, and the contingent from Cleveland was mostly Catholic ? all wanted a "religious" book. Bill wanted a "spiritual" book and fancied himself "an engineer by training" -- knew of the necessity of conversion if a person was to get sober and stay that way, plus he knew of the practical effectiveness of the Oxford Group principles.

One afternoon some of the drunk squad was hanging out at the Clinton Street home of the Wilsons and the conversation became centered around how much "God Stuff" was really needed in the Big Book -- and maybe some of this God talk could be left out! Lois got very upset with the conversation and asked everyone to leave. After all had left, Lois began scolding Bill and warning him about the consequences if he left out how he actually had recovered and failed to give the credit to his Higher Power. "If you leave out the part about God, you are going to get drunk!!!" she screamed.

Off the kitchen, Bill and Lois had a small room in which they kept a sleeping cot. Bill decided to lie down for a short time. Being in anything but a restful spiritual mood, he sat back up and took the clipboard he kept nearby and began to write. "We had been licked" became Step 1. "Made moral inventory" (point 1). "Confessed our shortcomings" (point 2). "Made restitution to those harmed" (point 3). "Prayed to whatever God we thought existed" (point 4). "Tried to help other alcoholics" (point 5). When Bill finished, he numbered the ideas he had just written and found he had 12 -- "Just like the Apostles," he thought. He had put God up front and had filled the holes of the Oxford Group program with Steps 6 and 7. Controversy began almost immediately. Howard A. and his pigeon (the old term for sponsee) stopped in to see Bill, and when he read what he had written, got a negative attitude.

In 1955 at the St. Louis AA convention, Bill stated that we got our ideas of self-examination, acknowledgement of character defects, restitution for harm done, and working with others straight from the Oxford Group and directly from Sam Shoemaker. But there were questions about the accuracy of those statements. What is from the Oxford Group? Well, one cannot "belong" to the Oxford Group. It has no membership list, subscriptions, badges, rules, or definite location(s). It is a name for a group of people from every rank, profession, and trade in many countries who have surrendered their lives to God and who are endeavoring to lead a spiritual quality of life under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Oxford Group is not a religion; it has no hierarchy, no temples, no endowments; its workers have no salaries, no plans but God?s Plan. The chapters on Sharing, Surrender, Restitution, and Guidance lead me to believe Bill got some of his ideas directly from the Oxford Group (book).

There is no question that he got some of his ideas from the Book of James in the Holy Bible. Bill mentions in his own story the phrase, "Faith without works is dead," which is definitely Biblical in origin. In his story Bill says he studied economics and business as well as law. One of the classes he took was the Dale Carnegie course on public speaking. His book, devoted to his students, "How To Win Friends And Influence People," has a chapter entitled, "When we are wrong admit it," Carnegie writes, "When we are wrong, and if we are honest with ourselves, and that will be quite often, let?s admit our mistakes quickly and with enthusiasm. No doubt Step 11 was inspired by the principles of "Quiet Time ? Oxford Group Prayer And Meditation," also Glenn Clark and E. Stanley Jones, who both wrote much about prayer and affirmation, I believe both Bob and Bill were much more spiritual than given credit for today. Also, Anne Smith and Henrietta Seiberling, both had a big affect on the spiritual path of the group.

From this point on, Bill?s writing was not as heavily edited by the group. Previously, Bill would complete a chapter and it would be sent out to Ohio for those boys to look over, then the New York bunch would take their shots at it, and Bill was getting quite tired of all of this fussing, and it was taking so long to write, that Bill said, "if I?m going to finish this book, you have got to let me write it."

Chapter 7 must have been Bill?s favorite. After all, carrying the message had kept Bill sober when his life seemed the bleakest and his depression the deepest. Carrying the message of personal evangelism came directly from the Oxford Group. H.A.Walter?s "Soul Surgery" credits Sam Shoemaker, Frank Buchman, Henry Wright, Henry Drummond, John Mott, and Sherwood Eddy as the forerunners of Oxford Group house parties. These men were involved in the Northfield Student Conferences, which was headed by Dwight L. Moody, and later the Y. M. C. A. Their primary purpose was to convert young men by the method of personal evangelism. Drummond said, "If we are to help men of moral degradation we must necessarily speak to them from experience," and Bill mostly wrote of the personal experiences of the group, and not preachy, but more matter-of-factly. This is what the drunk understands and the importance of being willing to go to any length to help the new man. From Charlie Towns, Bill had learned to never scold or talk down to a drunk. This could ruin an opportunity to be helpful later.

Probably the best chapter in the book, and my personal favorite, is Chapter 8, "To Wives." Bill had originally asked Anne Smith (Dr. Bob?s Wife) to write this chapter, and she declined. Bill never considered asking Lois to contribute, and this deeply hurt her for many years, and she mentions it in her book, "Lois Remembers." Here Bill really describes the four types of drinkers which occur most frequently. Any real alcoholic will find his story in this chapter. Also, Bill makes some important points about what to do when dealing with drunks:

1. Never be angry.
2. Never tell him what he must do about his drinking.
3. Do not set your heart on reforming any alcoholic.

Again quoting from "Varieties Of Religious Experience," Bill reiterates, "Some men have been so impaired that they cannot0 stop drinking."(page 114). This is a very spiritual chapter in which Bill refers directly to God many times -- and why not? This chapter was directed toward the alcoholic, but with the spouse in mind ? who was probably less offended by the constant reference to GOD. In contrast, Chapter 9 -- The Family Afterward, is certainly directed to the alcoholic. This chapter is heavily influenced by Oxford Group principles ? especially restitution. Restitution doesn?t mean simply an apology, not simply, "I am sorry." The Oxford Group made the point that we must right all wrongs directly to others; there is no private reconciliation with God! If we do not do this, we are practicing self-deception, and we all know that the manifestation of self-centeredness is the root of the alcoholic?s problems.

In this chapter (Chapter 9), Bill directs the family not to put too much emphasis on financial recovery -- but again points out spiritual recovery always precedes financial recovery, it never follows it. And again Bill points out that the family must not pressure the alcoholic to correct all his misguided past acts, especially of the alcoholic who is trying to recover. The chapter ends with a little story about Earl Treat, the first sober member from Chicago; Earl was AA number 13.

Chapter 10, To Employers, was written by Hank Parkhurst, who was once an assistant sales manager of a very large department for Standard Oil of New Jersey. Hank must have felt he had some special insight for personnel managers. As is the custom of many alcoholics, Hank relates tragic stories of fellow workers who had drinking problems. Very little is said about our common solution other than suggesting reading the book and trying to help others get sober. There is almost no other mention of the program. God or a Higher Power is not mentioned at all. Bill often referred to Hank as "our first drunk." Hank only managed to stay sober about 4 years, and died drunk, still owning 200 shares of Works Publishing Company stock. I have heard that Hank had written down many suggestions about the writing of the book, but I have not personally seen these notes. The book wouldn?t have been written if it were not for Bill, but the book would have never been published had it not been for Parkhurst.

Chapter 11, A Vision For You, out of necessity is a summary of what the text is about; after all, this is the basic text of Alcoholics Anonymous. "We have shown how we got out from under," Bill writes. Bill assures those to come, that the fellowship will be here to help newcomers. Again Bill reviews the early struggle and the progress of the fellowship, "But life among us of Alcoholics Anonymous is more than attending gatherings and visiting hospitals," he declares, again explaining the way we carry the message. Finally, Bill closes the main text asking the new man to give our program an honest effort. "Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him, and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find, and join us. We shall be with you in the fellowship of the spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the road of happy destiny, may God bless you and keep you until then.

After the first two chapters were completed, Bill felt it was very important to have the book reviewed by some medical experts, so a copy of what he had written was sent to Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore. Undoubtedly one of the best suggestions came from Dr. Ester L. Richards, who said, "I give it no higher compliment than to say that I read through the first two chapters without stopping. So gripping was the presentation of the material." He recommended that Bill get a number one physician who has wide knowledge of the alcoholic?s medical and social problems to write an introduction. Bill immediately convinced Dr. Silkworth to draft "The Doctor?s Opinion," a powerful endorsement from a medical professional, admitting that sometimes the medical community could not answer a disease such as alcoholism, and that this new "moral psychology" appeared to have produced better results. In the first edition Dr. Silkworth did not sign his name to the essay. However, by 1955, the time of the publishing of the second edition, medical opinions had changed somewhat, and Dr. Silkworth agreed to have his name appear in our book. In addition, when the second edition appeared they renumbered the pages so that Bill?s Story was page one. Many new readers skip the Doctor?s Opinion and go directly to page one. I know you are supposed to read the Preface, the Forwards, and so on, but that is not how I read books -- I usually start on page one.

The main text was completed, and as was the custom in those days, many books had a section of personal stories, such as Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy, Twice Born Men, For Sinners Only, and The Changed Life. The New York stories were very slow coming in. Hank and Bill tried editing them, polishing and occasionally rewriting them, which was probably a mistake. An. alcoholic has pride in his own story, drunk or sober, and they felt their stories should not be tampered with.

Meanwhile in Akron, Dr. Bob had sobered up a newspaper writer named Jim Scott, who was helping the boys from Akron write their stories. Scott was born in Australia, and graduated from the University of Glasgow, then came to America shortly before World War I. He had worked for a time as a reporter for a Pittsburgh newspaper, then held a series of jobs, losing most of them because of drunkenness. After service in the Canadian Army, he came to Akron in 1919 as a reporter on Goodyear Tire?s "Wingfoot Clan," advancing to editor, but resigning in 1926 because of drinking problems. In 1930, he began to trade and sell books to support his drinking, opening a shop that soon failed. He then loaded a car with books and traveled around the country selling them to libraries and historical societies. Job after job, finally he landed a job with the Federal Writer?s Project, and edited the first edition of the "Texas Federal Writer?s Project Book." When he finished that project, a friend put him on a bus to Akron, where he arrived drunk. Scott took his last drink in 1937. Nineteen of the stories in the first edition came from Akron. Obvious that the greatest assets of alcoholics in helping others recover was their personal stories, this constituted over half of the text. This created a big problem in Akron because many of the Akronites did not want the book printed. Bill D., AA number three, did not agree with the book project and would not allow his story to be used. It was not until the second edition in 1955 that Bill D.?s story was first printed. Bill Wilson traveled to Akron, interviewed Bill D., and personally wrote the story. Scott worked with the drunks on their stories and helped rewrite them. Sue Smith-Windows was going to Business College at the time and typed some of the Akron stories.

In his book, which is now owned by one of my friends, Archie Towbridge, the first member in Detroit, writes, "I write my story in the small hours of the morning, sometime in late December or early January, 1939, just ahead of the printer?s deadline. I had been sober four months. The story says six months as due time was allowed for publication. My perspective was very limited and the story was unduly brief. Sixteen years later, I was asked to rewrite it for the first new edition. Archie also writes, "To the best of my knowledge, this copy is one of the first hundred copies to be bound. The reason only one hundred were bound was that Works Publishing Company did not have any money to pay the printer!

By the end of January, Bill wanted to rush the book into print. Then some one sounded a note of caution: What if the book contained errors? What if the book was offensive to the religious? So four-hundred multilith loan copies were printed for evaluation. Comments were offered. Bill had written "Alcoholics Anonymous" on the cover page, but many in the New York area and more in the Akron area found this title unacceptable; the other title was "The Way Out," which had become very popular. Other titles under consideration included: "Empty Glass, Dry Frontiers, " and Bill even briefly considered "The Will W. Movement," but the choices came down to two: "The Way Out," or "Alcoholics Anonymous." So, Bill called Fitz Mahugh, who was in Washington, D.C., visiting family, and asked him to go to the Library of Congress and see how many books were already titled "The Way Out." And if there were any named "Alcoholics Anonymous." Fitz wired back saying there were twelve books titled "The Way Out" but none titled "Alcoholics Anonymous." That settled it. No one wanted to have the thirteenth of anything. Actually the name "Alcoholics Anonymous" had appeared as early as July 15, 1938, in a letter from Bill to Dick Richardson, and according to a letter from Dr. Richards of Johns Hopkins on July 18,1938. Bill at the time was using the name as the working title of the book and the name of the fellowship. Comments came in from New Jersey. A psychiatrist, Dr. Howard, observed that the message of insanity and death so vividly portrayed in the book as consequences of alcoholism were so persuasive that no further force was necessary, thus the language was softened and A.A.?s debt to medicine deepened.

From religion, Dr. Harry E. Fosdick returned his copy without criticism, a favorable book review, and encouraged Alcoholics Anonymous to release it as they wished.

Morgan Ryan, recently out of Rockland Asylum, took the manuscript to the New York Archdiocesan committee on publications. According to Morgan, that committee had nothing but the best to say about AA and the book. They did ask just one small thing, that the last line of Bill?s story be changed from Heaven to Utopia.

Finally, the manuscript was completed and sent to Tom Uzzell, a professor at New York University for final editing. Dr. Uzzell was a past editor of Colliers Magazine, contributor to The Saturday Evening Post, and writer of several books.

Among the books he had edited was "The Good Earth," "If I Had Four Apples," and many other best sellers. He was probably the top person in the business of preparing manuscripts for publication. In a letter to Hank, he said, "I spent last evening with a manuscript, I knew, of course, what the document was, but upon reading additional chapters and surveying the job as a whole, I found myself deeply moved at times, full of amazement, almost incredibly, and during most of the reading I was extremely sympathetic. My feeling at the moment is that you should certainly hold on to the publication, and distribution of this volume if you can. It ought to go far and wide and, handsome, and make those concerned a big profit. You have here an extremely urgent problem, you have a successful defiance of medicine, you have a religious story, you have a deeply human story, and lastly you have a whole flock of happy endings. I don?t know what else you could want for an excellent book. I believe in it most emphatically. The whole book needs final shaping of a professional hand." But it is interesting that he ends the letter with, "I understand better now the enthusiasm you revealed when you talked to me about this work, I thought you were exaggerating somewhat, but now I have joined the choir." They paid Dr.Uzzell $380. Finally, they were ready to go. They went up to see Mr. Blackwell at Cornwall Press. He said how many copies do you want? They said just print a few, say 5,000 copies. Blackwell said how much are you going to put down, they said well, maybe $500 on account.

So now up to Readers Digest they go to see Kenneth Payne, "We?re ready to shoot," they say. Payne replied, "Shoot what? Oh yes, now I remember you boys, we should have let you know, after you left, we had a meeting of the editorial board and I presented this project and the didn?t like it too much. They felt there would not be very much interest in alcohol or alcoholics and this might get the Digest into medical or religious difficulties! I?m awfully sorry, we should have let you know."

When the printer learned of the difficulties he almost took over the book himself, and the sheriff showed signs of moving into Honor Dealers, which he actually did a little later on. The drunks, who were about to lose their money, were extremely upset, and the Rockefeller moneymen said, "we told you so."

Meanwhile the house at 182 Clinton Street, which had belonged to Lois? parents, then deceased, in which the bank had been letting them live at suffrage was sold, and they were put out on the street. Bill and Lois didn?t even have enough money to put their things into storage. It was rough! All attempts to gain any publicity in a national publication through the summer of 1939 failed.

There had been a split in Akron, the Cleveland group lead by Clarence Snyder, had left the meeting at the Williams house, (about May 10, 1939) and using the name of the book began a meeting calling the group Alcoholics Anonymous.

Hank had begun to show first signs of his later paranoia, and the spreading suspicions of his drinking, which he later did. Even Ebby, the man who had brought the message to Bill, had gone back to drinking and showed no sign of interest in stopping, not even for 24 hours. Through the summer of 1939 the situation at Alcoholics Anonymous looked bleak, to say the least. At that time they had about 100 members. The 49 stockholders each got a free book. The 30 members whose stories were in the book each got a free copy. This only left about 25 books they could expect to sell to members. So they figured they had to get some publicity somewhere. Finally, one of them had an idea.

Morgan Ryan, who used to be in the advertising business said he knew Gabriel Heater, who was the host of a very popular radio show named, "We The People," which had a 96 station hook-up. Morgan said, It?s very simple, I?ll go see Gabriel and get it worked out. Gabriel agreed to do a three-minute spot on the book. So the drunks spent their last money and mailed post cards to every doctor east of the Mississippi, using up their last $500. Morgan was having a little trouble staying sober, and they were afraid he might be drunk when showtime came around. One of the non-alcoholic trustees, said he had a room at the downtown athletic club that he didn?t use much. "Why don?t you boys take Morgan over there and take turns watching him to make sure he stays sober?" So they did, and the interview went very well. They were sure they couldn?t miss now.

Bill, Hank, and Ruth held off for three days after the radio program, before they went to look in on P.O. Box 658. This was not a key box, you asked the clerk for your mail and he would bring it to you. Bill said his heart sank as he peered in the window of the box and saw only a handfull of cards, but Hank was not a bit bothered. He said, "Obviously they couldn?t fit everything in that small box -- they must have bags of it in the back!" But all told there were only twelve cards. Ten of which were illegible and probably written by drunken doctors, and the other two were orders for books.

Five thousand books in the warehouse, with everything and everybody on the cuff. The Wilsons evicted, Parkhurst about to get evicted and get drunk: such was the state of Alcoholics Anonymous during the summer of 1939.

Then Morris Markey, a freelance writer gave them a promise that a piece could be printed in Liberty magazine. Liberty was then edited by Fulton Ousler, who was to become one of AA?s best friends and a trustee of the General Service Conference. He was interested for personal reasons, not for him but a close family member. An article was finally printed on September 30,1939.

Meanwhile, Bill went to see one of the New York Group, Bert Taylor. "There is a piece coming out in Liberty Magazine in September," Bill told Bert. "This can?t miss." Bert asked, as a stockholder, "I would like to know if it is really going to be printed," and Bill assured him it would. "Is there any way you could scrape up a little money?" Bill asked.

"I?ll get you some money. I have a lot of wealthy clients -- I will make a call," said Bert. He called a man in Baltimore named Cochran, who was a prominent prohibitionist, and when Bill heard that he said, "We don?t want any dries in on this thing." Bert said, "Do you want the money or not?" So the call was made and Bert told Cochran he thinks every doctor in the country should have one of these books. "They sell for $3.50 each, but if you would take one or two hundred we could sell them for say, $2.50 each." Cochran demurred. Then Bert said, "There is a little delay about getting the book into distribution and we have a little publishing company called Works Publishing -- would you mind loaning $1,000 to the Works Publishing Company?

Cochran asked Bert, "What does the balance sheet of that company look like?" After Cochran heard that, he wasn?t too keen on the idea, and he wouldn?t care to do that. Bert said, "Would you mind loaning me the $1,000 on a personal note?" Cochran said he?d be delighted, "Send your note over and I?ll make up a check right away." So Bert Taylor, the tailor, hocked his business for Alcoholics Anonymous and saved the book and took the movement forward.

The Liberty Magazine piece brought in 800 inquiries, mail, and Works Publishing Company sold some books, and The Alcoholic Foundation moved along. In the spring of 1939, after the Cleveland Group split from the Akron Group Number One, they quickly split Cleveland into three groups: The Orchard Grove Group, The Lee Road Group, and The Borton Group, which was led by Clarence Snyder. The Cleveland groups actively promoted the movement and in October 1939, Elric B. Davis, a writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer ran a series of five articles about A.A., plus an article about Dr. Silkworth,

and one on a very prominent Cleveland clergyman. Letters and inquires poured into the group and in a few months Cleveland had several hundred members, about 30 groups, strong sponsorship, pamphlets, and had proven that the book was very valuable in indoctrinating newcomers.

In Chicago, thanks to the help of Dr.Don Craske of Osteopathic Hospital and Dr.Seth Brown of Evanston, their first twelve step call was George Mullen, who was a patient of Dr.Craske. The Chicago Group sent several recruits to Akron during the summer of 1939, including Sylvia Kauffman, the first woman to stay sober. Her sober date was September 13, 1939. By the time the Liberty article came out, the first group had started with eight sober members. By January 1940 the group had expanded to over twenty members -- two as a direct result of the Liberty Magazine article. They were handling twelve step calls from New York for Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, and downstate Illinois. Members actively promoted the book and pamphlets which were starting to appear in Cleveland and New York.

In Arkansas, the first group had started as the result of studying the book, with no one having called on the group. Sterling Cockrill, an insurance agent, had managed to stay sober since 1936 after reading the books "The Magnificent Obsession" and "The Common Sense of Drinking," and by trying to help others get sober. Sterling saw the Librety Magazine and told one of the men he was working with (Harlan Nickell) about the story. Without Sterling knowing about it, Harlan sent for the book to be shipped C.O.D., but by the time the book arrived Harlan had gotten drunk and the book went back to New York. In the meantime, Sterling sent for the book, and when it arrived he read it immediately, called Harlan and said, "This is what we have been looking for." In the beginning they only had one book, so Sterling would read to the group from the book and they would talk about what he had read.

Larry Jewel, who had sobered up in Cleveland in late 1939, got a job on the Houston Press. Only three months sober, Larry wrote six articles about men he had known in Cleveland, while on his train trip to his new job. When he arrived, he told his new employers everything -- his whole story -- and they let him publish the articles in the paper. These were sent back to the Cleveland Group, and along with Dr.Silkworth?s article from the Lancelot Journal, they were published in what became known as the Houston Pamphlet, the first pamphlet of Alcoholics Anonymous. This was shipped out to new prospects to encourage them to purchase a book.

Along about January of 1940, Richardson came to a trustees meeting and announced that John D. Rockefeller, Jr., would like to give the Alcoholic Foundation a dinner to honor the group and would like to invite some of his (Rockefeller?s) friends, and produced a list of people to be invited. The Foundation asked Dr.Foster Kennedy and Dr.Harry Emerson Fosdick to speak, and asked Bill to tell his story and the story of the group. After the meeting Rockefeller printed the meeting transcript and gave a complementary copy of the book to each invitee. The group had sold the Big Books to the Rockefeller Foundation for $1 per book.

After the speakers, Nelson Rockefeller gave a speech apologizing for his father, John D. Rockefeller, for not being able to attend, while saying how happy he was that A.A. had been so successful. But fortunately, this work required little money and he was going to contribute $1,000 per year for the next three years anyway. In addition to the Rockefeller gift, the alcoholics realized an additional $2,000.

Also, in or about January of 1940, Jim Burwell carried the message to Philadelphia, where he helped form the first A.A. group in that city.The first meeting was at the home of George S. -- George had been a Loner until the arrival of Burwell. He sobered up after reading the Liberty Magazine article. Philadelphia soon received help from three doctors. Dr.A.Wiese Hammer, C. Dudley Saul, and John F. Stouffer. It was Dr. Hammers? friendship with Curtis Bok, owner of the Saturday Evening Post that led to the publication of an article by Jack Alexander of the Saturday Evening Post -- who took great pride in producing cynical topics. He had recently produced an expose? of New Jersey racketeers, and had been directed by Judge Bok to do a story on A.A. Judge Bok wanted the truth, and Alexander had shown the ability to ferret out the real scoop. At first he hesitated, but he was curious about the connections to religion and the Rockefellers. On March 1, 1941, the article appeared in the POST. This was the turning point for A.A. Thousands came into the fellowship as a result of reading the article, or someone else reading the article ? then helping the drunk along the road to contacting Alcoholics Anonymous.

By April, the first printing of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous was sold and the second printing went to press.

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