Writing the Big Book: The Creation of A.A.

Description: Writing the Big Book: The Creation of A.A. Description Product Description Now in paperback―the definitive history of how the"Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous was written, edited, and finally brought to press. It has been over forty years since Ernie Kurtz wrote Not-God, the last truly professional treatment of the history of Alcoholics Anonymous. While many books dealing with A.A. history have been written since then, Writing the Big Book is the first to bring that same kind of exhaustive research, scholarly discipline, and informed insight to the subject. Schaberg’s book―telling a detailed story that begins in October of 1937 (when a book was first proposed) and ends in April of 1939 (when Alcoholics Anonymous was published)―is based primarily on the wealth of 1930s documents currently preserved in several A.A. archives. Woven together into an exciting narrative, these real-time documents provide an almost week-by-week account of how the book was slowly put together. It is a story that unfolds with many unexpected turns and more than a few revealing departures from the hallowed stories so widely circulated by A.A. members in the past. Writing the Big Book presents a robust and vivid picture of how Alcoholics Anonymous operated and grew in its earliest days along with a vast amount of previously unreported details about the cast of colorful characters who made that group so successful. Most surprising is the emergence of Bill Wilson’s right-hand man, Hank Parkhurst, as the unsung hero in this story. Without Hank there would have been no book, but his unfortunate slip back into drinking just months after it was published resulted in him being almost completely written out of the supposedly factual stories told later. Fast paced, engaging, and contrary, Writing the Big Book will decisively change whatever you think you know about early A.A. history and the ways in which this book―so central to the worldwide growth of this important twentieth century movement of spiritual recovery―actually came into being. Review Publishers Weekly Writing the Big Book: The Creation of H. Schaberg. Central Recovery, $40 (800p) ISBN 978-1-949481-28-0 Rare books dealer Schaberg (The Nietzsche Canon) provides an admirably exhaustive, albeit intimidatingly lengthy, look at the writing of Alcoholic Anonymous’s foundational 1939 text―known colloquially as The Big Book, and in full as Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism. Through years of archival research, Schaberg uncovered a tremendous amount of first-hand documentation related to the book’s composition. He demonstrates a detective’s skill in using this evidence to examine accounts by major A.A. figures and identify contradictions, often traceable to what he A.’s charismatic and garrulous founder Bill Wilson, the Big Book’s primary author. Among other things, Schaberg shows that the creation of A.A.’s most famous tenet, the 12 Steps, was likely not the sudden, inspired event [Wilson] so frequently reported, but a much more... deliberate affair. Elsewhere, Schaberg demonstrates equal skill as a literary archeologist in excavating past drafts of the book, finding traces of a planned but unwritten chapter about the potential alcoholic still evident in the finished text, and showing how a much-debated internal A.A. decision―to use the word God, but not more creed-specific language―shaped the Steps. The main caveat for general readers will be this book’s monumental scale; nonetheless, Schaberg’s work is a landmark study. (Oct.) KEYS TO RECOVERY Writing the Big Book: The Creation of A.A. Written by William H. Schaberg. Published by Central Recovery Press BOOK REVIEW All I can say is if you are in any way connected to A.A. or want to be, READ this book. It is an incredible source of information from the early days of A.A. and how the Big Book was written. The detailed retelling – based on primary document research - of the events About Us Since our founding, we have taken special pride and pleasure in being able to participate in the exciting world of eCommerce and providing products of the highest quality. It is with this philosophy that we want to run our store and provide exceptional value to you as our customer. Payment We accept payment by PayPal. Tracking Your Order: Once your order ships a tracking number will be sent to you via the email address used to place your order. Problem with My Order: For concerns regarding your order, please contact us here. 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Location: Denver, Colorado

End Time: 2024-10-08T03:07:32.000Z

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