Alcoholics Anonymous Books

This book is another example of Christian Social Terorism. The author clearly has no expereience with AA. It appears her only motivation is to convince others to believe in her god....Jesus Christ. I beleive in Jesus just as much as the Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus too.If youre new to recovery, do not buy this book. Go to AA, where the people actually care about you, versus converting you to their brand of belief. I also truly beleive that when this author passes, she will be joined by the likes of Dahmer, OJ and of course good ole George.

This book is only worth the read, if you believe that Masonry is the cult of cults, and that AA is expressly "anti-Christian". While I am NO FAN OF AA, I found this book to be a complete waste of the money paid for it, and unless you are a fundamentailist Christian, is not worth the read. The scholarship is pathetic (citations from ENCYCLOPEDIAS!), and does not reveal anything about the origins of AA, or the 12-Steps that has not been previously revealed, and better documented and researched before. I am surprised that AA has not taken legal action against the author, and publisher, as I am sure that even THEY can find an item or two that is libelous to the point of demanding a lawsuit. DO NOT BUY OR READ THIS BOOK!

It's a shame that it comes down to money. For someone to sell a book with such damage, with such contempt for the human race and for the total disregard of facts is unconsciencable. The power of the group goes back two thousand years ago to Roman times. We get our power from the group and some groups are good such as the boy scouts, a honorary scholastic fraternity or even a church. Some are bad such as gangs (the Crips), Vigilantee's who take law into their own hands and even the taliban that mis-uses human life in the name of the Lord. Miss Burns is an idiot. Plane, simple and the truth. These facts are un-challengeable. How can one person say that her way works when over two million people are sober today because a couple of guys joined the Oxford Group, splintered off and ran with the AA division of it leaves me questioning if she has her sanity or not. But then again, we all must admit that we at one time or another lost our sanity and came to believe that our lives were totally out of control or we never would have gone to the first AA meeting. The one thing that she fails to recognize about AA is that without the acceptance of a higher power and that higher power can not be disquised for anything other than God almighty, Jesus Christ our Savior and directed by the influence of the Holy Spirit, then the entire program of sobriety will not work. AA does not endorse a religion, does not compare an older, more better organized religion (ie; The Catholic Church) as opposed to a newer one (ie; the Mormons) but they do recognize that without a higher Power (whatever that higher power may be to you the individual) thus allowing the possibility of agnostics and even muslims to enter their ranks, that this power, whatever you concieve him to be, is what makes the program work. If you are considering buying this book, please contact me by email as I have a bridge I want to sell you in Brooklyn. If you are that far removed from reality that you could possibly buy this thing (don't feel bad, I bought a copy and it was the first book in my life I ever burned in the fireplace) then anything I or anybody else will say to you will fall on deft (and dumb) ears. Pick up a copy of the Big Book called Alcoholics Anonymous, it will show you the way out of the darkness and into the light.

I can't believe a book like this has been written or even published for that matter. Alcoholics Anonymous is one of the few programs that work for Alcoholics on a long term basis and people who can't get sober in AA are most likely 'constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves'.

Alcoholics in AA meetings are not 'lewd sinners' as one person wrote, and if that happens to be someones perception then perhaps they should go to different meetings, or maybe they're just afraid of real sobriety.

Do yourself a favor if you are an alcoholic don't cheat yourself of AA go to many different meetings and find one that's right for you. AA is not all one thing or the other, they're not all bible stomping christians, or sinning heathens they are spirtual people who are trying to be honest about their problems and become more mature.

I can't believe the number of supposed "adults" on this thread speaking of the doings of "Satan" or their faith in "Jesus Christ". This is all folklore and ancient mythism, people! You can not, as a rational human being, take it literally! If you are doing so you are not taken seriously by those who do not believe in fairy tales.

Get it? So view this book in context. If it does or doesn't provide any sort of RATIONAL message to you, dismiss it. But, don't take this book, derived from a non-existant entity/folklore/superstition, as anything more than that. People need to grow up.

This is a great edition of the 'Big Book' of Alcoholics Anonymous if you regularly attend Big Book study meetings, or meetings where members take turns reading a paragraph or two from the text.
The paragraph breaks are clear, plus there is ample space for your to add your own annotations.
The font changes to larger font in the back section of the book which is helpful for people like me who are sight challenged.

There is no better book that I have ever read that will help a person to understand their addiction to alcohol, and the wide reach of the addictions impact on all aspects of your life personally, with those you love and who love you, and with the world at large.
Despite the Judeo-Christian principles that the founder's of this organization have used as their spiritual reference, it still will work for those with or without a 'faith' based in any culture.
I personally have been amazed to see the complete transformation of people -- over time, often a great amount of time -- that this book and this organization has facilitated.
With the (as suggested) 'least possible organization' AA has found a place in almost every community in the world. No other organization can make that claim.

This is NOT A.A. General Service Conference approved literature! To use the A.A. name on this product is misleading at best and criminal at worst. Total ripoff!

Save your money, buy the real thing, printed by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
It is cheap, too, but the "stories" are real recovering alkies, not rehab just-recovered types, ( at least one story is even written by a non alcoholic).
The Lois history page is inaccurate, also.

This book doesn't do justice to the program of recovery prescribed the big book of Alchoholics Anonymous.
The editing's terrible and one of the saving grace's of the big book of Alchoholics Anonymous is that the first 164 pages have remained the same. Guess what? THEY'RE NOT THE SAME HERE! The page formatting is terrible. It's great to be told by your sponsor to go to page 21 and read of the real alcoholic. You can't do this with this book. Do yourself a favour and get the real one.

This does the alcoholic who still suffers a grave disservice. The stories omitted from this un-official and dangerous edition (text is missing) are the culmination of much work from the members of Alcoholics Anonymous to benefit alcoholics. To arrogantly revise and omit the official works that are tried and true and have helped millions recover, without the sanction of the unity of AA toys with peoples' lives that are at stake.

Do NOT buy this book, but DO get the official AA Big book from your local AA chapter or Alcoholics Anonymous World Services.

I read this book, it's the same Big Book

but it has a lot of Powerful and Inspiring NEW Stories

I hope that these stories will help a lot of people to recovery

from Drug and Alcohol Abuse

This book is NOT the "same" Big Book. It is not published by AA World Services, and is not approved AA literature.

The 4th Edition of "Alcoholics Anonymous" is the current textbook for the new way of living found by millions of ALCOHOLICS. Please don't let the message be watered down!!!

THIS BOOK IS NOT PUBLISHED BY, NOR IS IT ENDORSED BY ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS IN ANY CAPACITY!

This is NOT the Big Book, nor is it AA. If you do not have an authorized AA book, ask AA. They have a web site. Try the following:
Alcoholics Anonymous: Big Book, Original Edition
Father Fred and the Twelve Steps: A Primer for Recovery
As Bill Sees It: The A. A. Way of Life ...Selected Writings of the A. A.'s Co-Founder
The Spirituality of Imperfection: Storytelling and the Search for Meaning

I am very disappointed in this book. Who published this material?
Without a copyright, author or publisher, we have no idea where this material came from. Without knowing the source, we need to be suspicious.
Anyone who is in a program of recovery must be able to trust the source of information they receive.

I enjoy this edition and the Personal Stories


We, of Alcoholics Anonymous, are more than one hundred men and women who have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body.


To show other alcoholics precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of this book.



For them, we hope these pages will prove so convincing that no further authentication will be necessary.



We think this account of our experiences will help everyone to better understand the alcoholic.



Many do not comprehend that the alcoholic is a very sick person.



And besides, we are sure that our way of living has its advantages for all.


It is important that we remain anonymous because we are too few, at present to handle the overwhelming number of personal appeals which may result from this publication.




Being mostly business or professional folk, we could not well carry on our occupations in such an event. We would like it understood that our alcoholic work is an avocation.



When writing or speaking publicly about alcoholism, we urge each of our Fellowship to omit his personal name, designating himself instead as "a member of Alcoholics Anonymous."



Very earnestly we ask the press also, to observe this request, for otherwise we shall be greatly handicapped.




We are not an organization in the conventional sense of the word.



There are no fees or dues whatsoever.



The only requirement for membership is an honest desire to stop drinking.



We are not allied with any particular faith, sect or denomination, nor do we oppose anyone.



We simply wish to be helpful to those who are afflicted.



We shall be interested to hear from those who are getting results from this book, particularly form those who have commenced work with other alcoholics.




We should like to be helpful to such cases.


Inquiry by scientific, medical, and religious societies will be welcomed.

I just received my copy of this supposed reprint of the First Edition of the book Alcoholics Anonymous. AA World Services claims to maintain the copyright to the book outside the U.S. and maintains trademarks on the names Alcoholics Anonymous and The Big Book. Despite the fact that the validity of the original copyright is in dispute and that distribution outside the US is prohibited, BN Publishing has published this volume including the use of registered trademarks and without the citation of these trademarks or text being reproduced with permission of AAWS, Inc. There is also nothing in this book stating that the volume is not published by AA World Services, Inc. or that the material is used with permission. There is no disclaimer stating implication or suggestion of affiliation with or approval of, AA World Services, Inc is not there - in fact, there IS implied and suggested information to the prospective purchaser that this volume is in some way affiliated and endorsed by AA World Services.

The inferrence that this is an AA book (advertising AA Services insted of AA World Services, Alcoholics Anonymous as author and Anonymous, World Service as author) is a new low. The cover of the book states "Including: Personal Stories" - Nowhere in the advertising nor in the text does it state that several of the stories which were included in the original AA publication are not in the BN so-called "Special Edition." One would think that a reputable publisher would let potential purchasers know that when they advertize "Including: Personal Stories," they would mean all the personal stories and not only some of them.

Caveat Emptor - Let the buyer beware! I would hope that AA World Services and their legal team would go after this publisher for ripping off the AA name for purely mercenary reasons and leave the rest of those reprinting materials to carry the message of recovery alone.

Only the first sentence is from Steve M.The rest of the verbage is copied from the Forward to the First Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous. He is taking credit for these words and not giving credit to Alcoholics Anonymous!!

The copyright on the first 164 pages of the Alcoholics Anonymous "Big Book" expired several years ago. Anyone at all can do what they want with it. Including apparently pretending to be the original publisher.
Amazon is selling literature claiming to be the AA "Big Book" published by "AA Services" (whoever that might be ) that appears to actually be just the first section of the original text, with the remaining section written to resemble the portion still under copyright by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services.
The information on this website could lead people to believe they are purchasing the "Big Book" from Alcoholics Anonymous.
This book does not appear in the list of publications on the AA website. A Google search for "AA Services" brought up various Amazon websites (where it is given credit for many of the AA publications), and several Auto Clubs. No contact information.
I'm sure they are not anticipating trouble from Alcoholics Anonymous, which is notoriously averse to controversy of any kind. Too bad.
Amazon is complicit in this foolishness in each situation where it attributes AA literature to "AA Services" or provides a link that further confuses the issue.
Money is not the issue here. Imagine another reputable non-profit human services outfit has publications that lose their copyright. Let's say it's the Mayo Clinic, or the Hazelden Foundation. Any dingus can select from that material, and add their own pearls of wisdom too, and that's fine. What you don't want them doing is presenting the result as a Mayo Clinic or Hazelden Manual. And Amazon should certainly not help them do it.
Ron Ayotte

the source is the literature of AA and the meetings. this kind of writing is just redundant capitalizing. get it from the horse's mouth.

writing under the guise of "AA History" this writer is promoting an agenda - the Evangelical Christianization of AA - that flies in the face of World Service approved histories, and the Big Book itself (!). His postion is that real AA recovery requires conversion to Christianity (and not just that, but a conversion to his particular version of Christianity)

This kind of exclusivist revisionism is not only anti-real AA, it kills alcoholics...