Big Book Study

[bluidkiti]

# 16

Good Morning!

We can gain some insight into the writing of the book through an examination
of the original text *(pre-publication "Multilith")* in conjunction with the
text as printed in the first edition.

Keep in mind, there were more or less two camps within AA at the time Bill
wrote the book. The *Akron/Cleveland* camp was Bible based and religious in
nature; the* New York*bunch was more psychological using a mental approach
to gain the confidence of the newcomer and then hitting him with the
spiritual angle. Sounds like a difficult task to write a book that would
satisfy both trains of thought.

Most of the changes involved *inserting "we" for "you"* and making the text
more inclusive and less like a sermon. Other changes involved *key words* that
were inserted to change the basic meaning of the phrases.

Today and in our next post, we will go through the first three pages
of *Chapter
5* to illustrate how the book was transformed by these changes. The words
that were replaced will appear in *[brackets]* following the words or
phrases by which they were replaced.

*Page 58:
*
*Paragraph 1* - "Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly
followed our path*[directions]*."

"They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living
*[way of life]*which demands rigorous honesty."

*Paragraph 2* - "If you have decided you want what we have and are willing
to go to any length to get it - then you are ready to take certain
steps *[follow
directions]*."

*Paragraph 3* - "At some of these we balked *[you may balk]*. We thought *[You
may think]* we could find an easier, softer way. But we could not *[We doubt
you can]*."

*Paragraph 4* - "Remember we deal *[you are dealing]* with alcohol -
cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us *[you]*. But
there is One who has all power - that One is God. May you *[You must]* find
Him now!"

We'll continue with paragraph 1 on page 59 and into the original written
text of the 12 Steps with our next post.

Have a great day!

With Love,
Karen H.