Research Books

I have read and widely used Dick B.'s book, The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible. I understand it is the most frequently ordered and re-ordered of the Dick B. A.A. History books. And it succinctly lays out the material that is foundational to A.A. and the Twelve Steps and yet is neither known nor used among the secularized meeting fellowships today. True, A.A.'s basic ideas came from the Bible. True, Christians need to know that so that they can feel comfortable with their Bibles and believing within their recovery fellowships today. But how about those--and they are increasing in number--who want to have study groups in A.A., in recovery groups, in treatment programs, and among their Christian, clergy, and church friends? This Good Book-Big Book Guidebook fits the bill. It shows how to study the Bible and incorporate early A.A.'s Christian roots in your study groups today. It is a valuable companion book for the original Good Book title. I would recommend them highly for those who are conducting, starting, or thinking about a Good Book study group for newcomers and others who want to grow.

I like having a guidebook that I can use for my own study and which can also be used by study groups and fellowships that want to dig in together. There have been lots of attempts to provide guides to the Scriptures and the Twelve Steps. But most have been written by Bible companies, treatment facilities, and professionals. This book, however, is written by a veteran A.A. who is a long-time Bible student and also a long-time active A.A. member who has attended thousands of meetings and sponsored over 100 men. This book will be used for a long time. It will be used by AAs and Twelve Step people who are waking up to the importance of the Bible in the cures and high success rates of early A.A. This book tells how it was used. The book will be used by Christians and churches who are waking up to the fact that A.A. is not some self-made cult but actually had a Christian beginning, Christian Fellowship, and intense reliance on the Bible and the Creator in the early years. I find it uniquely helpful for its variety of segments: (1) How early AAs approached and included the newcomer in their program. (2)The frank statements by the pioneers that they had been healed; and Dick turns the reader to the Bible verses and history that show recovery and cure by religious means in early A.A. and through the ages. (3) There's a segment on A.A.'s own spiritual roots, a segment on the details of the early Christian Fellowship principles and practices,and a segment on the specific parts of the Bible considered absolutely essential. (4) There is more on how pioneers approached alcoholism, sin, overcoming, and victory. (5) There's a vital concluding chapter that tells me and me group exactly how to study this picture and use it today and spread the word by witness. There's an excellent bibliogrpahy. There's also material in two appendices which will inspire action and which will tell anyone exactly how he can study and conduct a study group today. It's a tool for Twelve Step work and Bible study.

Review of The Good Book-Big Book Guidebook

By Terry Dunford

The Good Book-Big Book Guidebook by Dick B. is a marvelous piece of work. I was very excited to hear that an author has finally written a book that explains how individuals, treatment centers, recovery groups, churches, counselors, etc... can apply the spiritual origins of A.A. into their own recovery. This particular Guidebook is truly priceless because once treatment centers, recovery groups, and individuals start applying the principles and concepts that Dick B. explains, alcoholics and all sinners can finally learn a program of recovery that truly produces awesome results.

Anyone in the recovery arena can utilize this Guidebook. This Guidebook is suitable for individuals in recovery, Christians, treatment centers, counselors, clinicians, church leaders, and anyone else that have a desire to learn the true spiritual origins of A.A. Furthermore, this Guidebook explains HOW we can incorporate the spiritual principles and biblical roots of A.A. into recovery today. This Guidebook is a must-have for all Christians. Dick B. uncovers the truth for us all to understand and utilize.

First, The Good Book-Big Book Guidebook explains how we can incorporate A.A.'s Biblical origins and Christian Fellowship into recovery today. This information is extremely important because early A.A.'s success rate was unbelievably high as they were utilizing the spiritual principles of the early program. Dick B. explains that the Founders of A.A. believed in Almighty God. He then goes on to mention the Founder's belief in a cure of alcoholism. This cure that early AAs believed in has been meticulously uncovered by the 16 plus years of research conducted by Dick B.

Dick B. continues on to explain the spiritual beginnings of A.A. The two distinctly different spiritual origins of A.A. are laid out for us all to understand. Many important factors on the early program are explained. For example, Dick B. talks about the materials from the Bible that Dr. Bob considered "Absolutely Essential." Other important information is explained like the verses that received special attention and use in early A.A. Dick B. then continues on to explain the important role of the Book of Matthew, the Book of James, and 1 Corinthians 13.

The information I listed above is just as short preview of all the great information provided by this tremendous Guidebook. One of the most important aspects of this Guidebook is the mention of how to use and apply the Guidebook in recovery today. Not only is the information about early AA explained, but Dick B. has explained how we can utilize the important spiritual principles in recovery today. This is very important because AA today is focusing on a "Higher Power" and the real biblical origins of AA are not talked about. Because of this, the success rate of today is extremely low. Now, with this new Guidebook, we can finally start utilizing the spiritual principles of early AA in recovery today. This book is a must-have for everyone in recovery. God Bless!

AAs seem to crave "meditation" books, "reflection" books, devotional "guide books," and the like. Consequently, there are hundreds of books, pamphlets, and guides published in the last couple of decades. Yet there has been none suited to the AAs' taste for what the founders did. Dick set about gathering the precise books--like the Upper Room, The Runner's Bible, The Greatest Thing in The World, As a Man Thinketh, The Soul's Sincere Desire, My Utmost for His Highest, and many others--that were used by the pioneers. In fact, their quiet times were a must. They were required. And Bill Wilson remarked that he always felt something was lost in the program when the quiet time periods were abandoned. Well, they are not abandoned now. This book has been used by many of my friends as a real assist in their fellowship with God. It describes what a real quiet time was. It tells who did what, how, and why. And it provides an excellent resource for those who set aside time each day to read their Bibles, pray to God, ask the Creator's guidance, and study further.

A Key Work on Morning Meditation and Prayer
Early on, Dick B. discovered that there were plenty of meditation and prayer books, but practically none that showed what early AAs were doing with their Quiet Times. This is an excellent help to me in following the sequence of 'meditation' events: a new birth, Bible study, prayer, seeking God's guidance, studying a devotional like The Upper Room, The Runner's Bible, and My Utmost for His Highest. It's actually a guide in my own daily prayer life, and can be for anyone who wants to be in touch with God each day - just as AA pioneers were

Also recommended: The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous by Dick B. New Light on Alcoholism by Dick B. That Amazing Grace by Dick B.

Those of us who observe a morning quiet time (that means Bible study, prayer, thanks to God, asking for His guidance, and sometimes the use of collateral materials)welcome this nifty review of quiet time and the morning watch through the ages. It shows the real biblical roots of morning prayer and "meditation" and provides an excellent guide, not only as to what early AAs did, but what we can do today. It is a guide for morning watch and also for seeking God's help throughout the day, followed by a hefty vote of thanks to Him at night.

This book is a joy to read. It is hilarious. Yet this levity is only to balance the gravity of the subject matter. The planet is in a "grand catharsis," or great cleansing. Mr. Kalb takes us on a journey back and forth through time then into the future. Written in 1995, the predictive work of this book is spot on. I've heard him called "the Nostradamus of our time," but I think this nomiker is incorrect. Kalb is not a prophet of doom and gloom, but one of wisdom and understanding. The entire planet is having a "near death experience," similar to the one the author had in Mexico. There is a chapter called "The Stars of Saddam," written prior to the first Gulf War which actually nailed the very day that it would start. A World Class astrologer, the author is a different breed. He is sane and he is coool! He's even a lifetime surfer. This book is a classic. Read it, laugh, think, get inspired, enjoy.

This is So much more than a great astrology book. It is all of human history from a unified perspective. The predictive accuracy is near perfect. Thought provoking, hard hitting, powerful material. Hilarious at times, yet deeply meaningful. Truly a magical blend and a delightful reading experience.

With humor and vision, The Grand Catharsis tells the unwritten history of consciousness on planet Earth. Hard hitting core issues are unveiled provoking a deep internal unleashing of cellular memory of who we are and where we are going. From mysticism to a magical mystery tour into our future, you will be thrilled by the E ticket ride.

Unless one is an academic with access to travel to Cuba, any research involving the island is nearly impossible. This book opens the door by providing a gateway to resources seldom-used and unknown. To me, all the information it gives made my research easier and possible!

This book has been very helpful in my search for my Cuban ancestors. It is filled with details that one cannot find anywhere else. I wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone!

Como genealogista a la par que como cubano, considero esta obra como un material de inestimable valor para todo aquel que necesite sumergirse en la nada facil busqueda de sus raices familiares en Cuba.
Ojala se pudieran conseguir libros actualizados que profundizaran en este tipo de pesquizas exhaustivas.

When I was getting ready to write my disseration, my advisor strongly urged me to get this book. I'm really glad he did.

The book contains excellent advice on all aspects of scholarly writing. And there is not just advice on how to write, but on numerous ethical issues, like how much you can quote without marking it as a quotion, and can you cite references you haven't actually looked up yourself, and what do you have to put in a curriculum vitae.

She tells you how to properly cite every imaginable source: Corporate publications with no author, goverment documents, the US Constituion, the Bible, ancient documents found in museums, etc.

Styles have changed a bit since the 1st edition (the one I'm actually reporting on). In that edition she says you can't use use citations as nouns, as in "These results conflict with those reported in [Jones98]." However, this usage is very common. I don't know what the newer edition says on this issue.

If you're a scholar, and are looking for something after Strunk and White, this is it. It is entertaining reading while pumping your brain full of all those little hidden rules of style that noone ever taught you.

This handbook has every rule you would like to know for your writing (article, book, thesis, even your curriculum vitae), as a scholar, I have to say.

This book doesn't deal with "how you should write your ideas," but with your questions about style, capitalization, references in foreign languages, and so on.

For Spanish speakers: La mayoría de las reglas de este libro pueden ser fácilmente "traducidas" a nuestro idioma (excepto, por supuesto, aquellas acerca de comillas).

A must have for anyone doing or about to do research on behavioral sciences. A very good book. Methods and how to use statistics are described in detail.

This is the best introduction to ethology I have found: Desmond Morris is a good introduction for someone with no scientific background and "Foundations" by Konrad Lorenz uses words that may confuse the newcomer. If you are intrested in this amazing field this is a must. It has a good theoretical introduction and follows with a well organized guide into conducting a clean research. I am an Electronics graduate and found the book very accessible yet powerfully presented.

This second edition is an excellent update, it is still the best begin for ethological researchers, and a very useful tool in the behavioral ecology and ethology classes in my university.

I really like this book and wish that I'd found out about it before my psychometrics class in the spring started, because I would have assigned it in a heartbeat. It's got a lot of the kind of practical advice that anyone thinking of creating a scale REALLY needs to hear first, including the #1 bit of advice: Should you make one yourself? For instance, excellent summaries of the work on scale usage biases by Jon Krosnick, Norbert Schwartz, etc., give useful cautionary information for scale constructors. I have a few disagreements---some of the advice about procedures such as some of the scaling methods they mention is out of date, for instance, and the chapters on factor analysis and IRT are a bit weak, but I can cover that with other material. It certainly doesn't detract from the value of the book overall and I've learned a bunch I didn't know reading it. It'll be on the syllabus next time!

This book is definally the best one in the field, it is clear and provides all information about psychometry.

This is undoubtedly, one of the best books I have read in this area. The authors follow an appropriate sequence in terms of addressing scale development, testing and analyses issues. The best thing about the book is that it is really easy to comprehend and covers all the important areas. I feel it is a "must buy" for professionals in the area of health-related quality of life and outcomes research.

If you had asked me a few years ago about Henrietta B. Seiberling of Akron, Ohio, I would have drawn a complete blank. I hadn't heard of the famous Seiberling rubber tycoons. I hadn't heard of Congressman John Seiberling. I hadn't been to Akron and seen the street name Seiberling. And I certainly didn't know about Henrietta. Yet she lived in the Gate Lodge at the foot of the huge Seiberling estate--the largest in Ohio. She lived there and raised her three kids alone. She persuaded Dr. Bob of A.A. to turn to prayer for help. She responded immediately when help arrived in the form of the "rum hound from New York" who said he was with the "Oxford Group." And she went to great effort to introduce the still-drinking and drunk Dr. Bob to Bill Wilson at her home. Six hours later, the two founders had hit it off. She put Bill Wilson up at the Portage Country Club, and then Bill went to live with Dr. Bob and his wife in the summer of 1935. From that point forward, Henrietta taught, counseled, loved and helped the early AAs and their Christian Fellowship. And this new book by Dick tells details I had never heard before; and they are a rich part of the early A.A. legacy of healing and victory. It's a fine piece of reading. Try it.

Henrietta Seiberling has been vilified in recent AA-related biographies as a sort of cancer to AA's history. One writer (Francis Hartigan) suggests that Seiberling was jealous of Bill Wilson because Bill "succeeded where she had failed." Others have relegated her legacy to being nothing more than a door greeter, the woman who "happened" to bring together Bill and Dr. Bob Smith. It seems that anyone who spoke out against certain facets of Bill W.'s style has been thrown under the revisionist bus. [Any doubts? Reference Clarence Snyder, Father Ralph Pfau, Jerome Ellison, and Hank Parkhurst.]

"Henrietta B. Seiberling: Ohio's Lady with a Cause" is a gem. Presented at the dedication of the opening of the Stan Hywet Hall's Gate Lodge, Henrietta's residence, this syllabus blends the efforts of Seiberling the teacher, supporter, and believer with the Akron laboratory as led by Dr. Bob. Henrietta was one of several non-alcoholic friends of early AA who were so vital to the movement's infancy. She helped with the first program's spritual structure and understanding. She counseled the alcoholics and helped them look to the cure: God Almighty. And she was weary of AA's eventual transformation into what she termed a "rotary club" conglomerate. Henrietta knew what worked for the early AAs. She was more than simply a witness to the successes of the Akron "alcoholic squad."

This work covers the main ingredients of the Akron legacy of Alcoholics Anonymous and adds key information as to the real Seiberling role. [Dare I say it, Dick's found a real niche with the syllabus format.] It is amazing to see the true picture develop when all agendas are swept aside. If nothing else, the reader will come away with the understanding that Henrietta was by no means a failure with Dr. Bob. Without her aid, we may not be studying the Alcoholics Anonymous story today. That fact in itself warrants a look into this intriguing piece of history.

-Richard K.
Author, Researcher
Haverhill, MA
February 2005

This little book (which is now the 4th edition)is one of the later additions by author Dick B. to the family of Akron A.A. founders about whom he has written. And it almost seemed as if Henrietta Seiberling had slipped through the cracks since you rarely if ever hear her name mentioned or hear anything about her A.A. role in fellowship meetings. Yet she played such an important part in getting our society under way. She had befriended Dr. Bob and his wife Anne. She had her own problems and knew what the Smiths were going through because of Dr. Bob's drinking situation. When the Oxford Group came to Akron in 1933 to attest to Russell Firestone's conversion and release from alcoholism, Henrietta jumped at the chance to hear the story. She persuaded Dr. Bob's wife Anne and two other ladies to go to the big meeting at the Mayflower Hotel. Hearing the deliverance that was available through Christ, she urged Anne and soon Dr. Bob to attend an Oxford Group meeting regularly. And soon Henrietta, Bob, Anne, and Oxford Groupers T. Henry Williams decided to form a "rump" meeting and hold it at the Williams home. It was unlike the Oxford Group meetings in several ways and certainly because it was a little group of OG people, alcoholics, and families who were meeting primarily to overcome their problems, and soon Dr. Bob's drinking problem. It was Henrietta's revelation from God that impelled her to caution Bob that God had told her by revelation that Bob must not take one drink. But Dr. Bob continued to drink--because he wanted to. Then Henrietta convened a special meeting to deal with Dr. Bob specifically. At the conclusion when Bob had admitted to his alcoholism, she asked him if he would like to join the group in prayer. And, on their knees, they prayed with Dr. Bob for his deliverance. Yet he continued to drink--because he wanted to. And then the miracle happened. Out of the blue, Henrietta received a call from Bill Wilson, an alcoholic and Oxford Grouper, who announced that he needed to talk to a drunk. Understanding the "pass it on" principle of witnessing, Henrietta exclaimed that Bill was "Manna from heaven." He was, to her, the real answer to the group's prayers. And she quickly brought Bob and Bill together at her Gate Lodge home. The men talked for six hours, hit it off well, and decided to start helping drunks. And this, of course, was not an Oxford Group agenda item; so they called the Akron meetings a "clandestine lodge" of the Oxford Group. Henrietta continued to particpate in leading the weekly meetings during the summer of 1935 and long thereafter. She counseled Bob and Bill in Bible matters. And she helped distribute biblical literature that Dr. Bob was reading and recommended. And it was the little band of three (Bob, Anne, and Henrietta)who, along with T. Henry and his wife, developed the program that worked. And they kept at it until Wilson and Smith counted 40 people who were maintaining complete sobriety and that they had developed a cure which could be passed along to others. I love the book, and I love Henrietta's special role as a non-alcoholic woman of compassion and love who helped to found our great society.

James "Mac" McKee's book immediately incorporates readers into the tail of a life-long friendship and mentorship developed over many years through hiking, hunting and living. Even though I am not a hunter, I truly enjoyed each chapter and found myself very resistant to setting the book down. Mac tells a heart-warming tale which reveals a deep and meaningful side of hunting and the love of the great outdoors

WONDERFUL STORIES ABOUT REAL SITUATIONS IN THE SWAMP...GREAT DESCRIPTION OF ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN EXPERIENCES. FELT AS IF I WERE THERE EXPERIENCING THE ADVENTURES. WRITTEN VERY WELL AND EASY TO READ...PHOTOS VERY HELPFU

This is a great book that details the bond that ties all hunters together. The true stories lend credence to the common thread that connects us all to mother nature. To anyone who has ever been in the woods, and wants to relive the experience - This is the book for you. A must rea

"The Historian's Toolbox" greatly exceeded my expectations. This book covers the basics of how to research, what historians do, and the basic tools historians use. It references various books and Websites throughout. This book would greatly compliment a junior or senior level history class. Likewise it would benefit a new graduate student in history.

Williams gives instructors and students of history two books in one. Part one is a quick look at some of the big ideas and controversies of the profession. These short chapters on such topics as metahistory and anti-history should provide great fodder for class discussions. Part two on "the tools of history" offers good guidance on researching, writing, and thinking about history. Again, short, provocative chapters should stimulate students to think and talk about the joys and difficulties of doing quality history. I'll assign the book to my next class on historical research and writing. With this book as a guide, students will not write just another term paper; they'll know how to craft a livelier, deeper, and more revealing interpretation of the past.

Written by Robert C. Williams (Vail Professor of History and Dean of Faculty Emeritus, Davidson College) The Historian's Toolbox: A Student's Guide to the Theory and Craft of History is a reader-friendly guide for aspiring historians of all skill and experience levels. Now in an updated second edition with five new chapters, The Historian's Toolbox covers everything from how to choose a good history topic and write a solid paper, to evaluating primary, secondary, and tertiary historical sources, to format guidelines for credits and acknowledgments, to historical narrative as compared to interpretation or speculation, to even the potentials and abuses of the user-modified website Wikipedia. A "must-have" guide for history majors and a useful quick-check resource for professional historians, highly recommended.