First Rough Draft of Alcoholics Anonymous History Website Content

[dickb]

Alcoholics Anonymous History
with
Dick B.

This website intends to focus readers on accurate, comprehensive Alcoholics Anonymous History—particularly as it extends from the pre-A.A. Christian roots of the 1850’s to the period just after Bill Wilson published his First Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1939. It will lay out the history in various chunks that should prove useful to the recovery community.

Start with Alcoholics Anonymous General Services Conference-Approved Literature

I began my search for Alcoholics Anonymous History by reading all the available, accurate, relevant literature published by A.A. itself. And the books, in the order of the publication, were:

• Alcoholics Anonymous, 1st ed., Works Publishing Company, 1939 (non-approved).
• “RHS” The A.A. Grapevine issue dedicated to the memory of the Co-Founder of
Alcoholics Anonymous, DR. BOB, 1951.
• Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, 1957.
• The Co-Funders of Alcoholics Anonymous: Biographical Sketches Their Last Major Talks (Pamphlet P-53), 1972, 1975.
• Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd ed., 1976.
• DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 1980.
• “Pass It On,” 1984.
• The Language of the Heart: Bill W.’s Grapevine Writings, 1988.

Examine Other Reliable Alcoholics Anonymous History Literature that Can Be Helpful

Piece by piece, manuscript by manuscript, research trip by research trip, Alcoholics Anonymous History—in its full form, and in a form that is comprehensive, accurate, and able to be used and applied in recovery today—emerged from and is reported in the following Alcoholics Anonymous History literature:

• Alcoholics Anonymous: The Original 1939 Edition, Introduction by Dick B., Dover
Publications, 2011.
• AA of Akron Pamphlets, n.d., – Available at Akron Intergroup Office
A Guide to the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous
A Manual for Alcoholics Anonymous
Second Reader for Alcoholics Anonymous
Spiritual Milestones in Alcoholics Anonymous
• Bill W.: My First 40 Years
• Biographies of Bill W.:
Dick B., The Conversion of Bill W., 2006.
Susan Cheever, My Name is Bill W., 2004.
Francis Hartigan, Bill W., A Biography. . . , 2000.
Matthew Raphael, Bill W. and Mr. Wilson, 2000.
Tom White, Bill W.: A Different Kind of Hero, 2003.
Nan Robertson, Getting Better Inside Alcoholics Anonymous, 1988.
Robert Thomsen, Bill W., 1975
• Central Bulletin, Volumes I – III, Cleveland Central Committee, Dec. 1942-Dec. 1945
• Dale Mitchel, Silkworth: The Little Doctor That Loved Drunks, 2002
• Garth Lean, Frank Buchman: A Life
• James D. Newton, Uncommon Friends,
• Lois Wilson, Lois Remembers, 1987
• Nell Wing, Grateful to Have Been There, 1992.
• Stewart C., A Reference Guide to the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, 1986.
• Bill Pittman and Dick B., Courage to Change: The Christian Roots of the Twelve Step
Movement, 1994
• Bill Pittman, AA The Way It Began, 1988.

Alcoholics Anonymous History: A.A.’s Origins
• Mel B.
New Wine: The Spiritual Roots of the Twelve Step Miracle, 1991
Ebby: The Man Who Sponsored Bill W., 1998
My Search for Bill W., 2000.
• Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker Histories
Dick B., New Light on Alcoholism: God, Sam Shoemaker, and A.A.
Bill W., I Stand by the Door, The A.A. Grapevine, 1967.
Charles Taylor Knippel, Samuel M. Shoemaker’s Theological Influence on
William G. Wilson’s Twelve Step Spiritual Program of Recovery,
Helen Smith Shoemaker, I Stand by the Door,
John Potter Cuyler, Jr., Calvary Church in Action, 1934.
W. Irving Harris, The Breeze of the Spirit
Samuel M. Shoemaker, Calvary Church Yesterday and Today,
Samuel M. Shoemaker, Realizing Religion, 1923
• Oxford Group Histories
Dick B., The Oxford Group & Alcoholics Anonymous
Frank N. D. Buchman, Remaking the World
Garth Lean, Frank Buchman: A Life
James D. Newton, Uncommon Friends,
Henry B. Wright, The Will of God and a Man’s Life Work
Howard A. Walter, Soul Surgery, 1928.
Howard J. Rose, The Quiet Time
Peter Howard, That Man Frank Buchman
Robert E. Speer, The Principles of Jesus
Sherwood Sunderland Day, The Principles of the Group, n.d.
T. Willard Hunter, It Started Right There
T. Willard Hunter, World Changing Through Life-Changing,,
The Layman with a Notebook, What is the Oxford Group? 1933.
• Histories Relative to the Co-Founder Dr. Bob’s Christian Upbringing
Dick B. and Ken B., Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous: His Excellent Training in
the Good Book as a Youngster in Vermont.
[The Town of St. Johnsbury—Dr. Bob’s birthplace]
Edward Taylor Fairbanks, The Town of St. Johnsbury, Vt; A Review
of One Hundred Twenty-Five Years to the Anniversary Pageant, 1912
Claire Dunne Johnson, “I See By the Paper,” 1987.
[The People, including the Fairbanks family and the Smith family]
Albert Nelson Marquis, Who’s Who in New England
Charles G. Ullery, Men of Vermont, 1894.
Hiram Carleton, Geneological and Family History of the State of
Vermont, Vol I.
Lorenzo Sayles Fairbanks, Geneology of the Fairbanks Family… 1897
The “Fairbanks Papers” 1815-1889,.
William H. Jeffrey, Successful Vermonters, 1904.
[Congregationalism and North Congregational Church of St.Johnsbury]
John M. Comstock, The Congregational Churches of Vermont and Their
Ministry, 1762-1942. 1942.
John E. Nutting, Becoming the United Church of Christ in Vermont, 1995
History of North Congregational Church, 2007
Arthur Fairbanks Stone, North Congregational Church, St. Johnsbury,
Vermont, 1825-1942, 1942
[Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor]
Francis E. Clark. Christian Endeavor in All Lands, 1906
Francis E. Clark, World Wide Endeavor: The Story of the Young People’s
Society of Christian Endeavor and in All Lands, 1895.
Amos R. Wells, Expert Endeavor, A Textbook of Christian Endeavor
Methods and Principles, 1911.
John R. Clements, The Francis E. Clark Year Book: A Collection of Living
Paragraphs From Addresses, Books, and Magazine Articles by the Founder of the Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor, 1904.
John Franklin Cowan, New Life in the Old Prayer Meeting, 1906.
[St. Johnsbury Academy]
Arthur Fairbanks et. al. [including Dr. Bob’s mother], An Historical
Sketch Of St. Johnsbury Academy 1842-1922
Charles Edward Russell, Bare Hands and Stone Walls, 1933
Richard Beck, A Proud Tradition A Bright Future, 1992
Robert Miraldi, The Pen Is Mightier: The Muckraking Life of Charles
Edward Russell, 2003.
The Academy Student (1897), (1898)
[Young Men’s Christian Association]
Year Book of the Young Men’s Christian Association of North America,
1896
C. Howard Hopkins, John R. Mott, 1865-1955.
Laurence L. Doggett, History of the Young Men’s Christian Association
Richard C. Morse, History of the North American Young Men’s Christian
Associations, 1919.
Sherwood Eddy, A Century with Youth, 1884-1944, 1944
[Salvation Army]
Harold Begbie, Twice Born Men
Understanding and Counseling…
• Histories Relating to the Christian Upbringing of Co-Founder Bill Wilson
Dick B., The Conversion of Bill W.
[The conversion that cured Bill Wilson’s grandfather Willie of alcoholism]
Francis Hartigan, Bill W.: A Biography…, 10-11
Robert Thomsen, Bill W., 14
Bill W., My First 40 Years, 6
Susan Cheever, My Name is Bill, 17.
[The Evangelists]
Allen Folger, Twenty-Five Years as an Evangelist, 1906
Bob Holman, F. B. Meyer: “If I Had a Hundred Lives…,” 2007
Edgar J. Goodspeed, The Wonderful Career of Moody and Sankey in
Great Britain and America, 1876.
Elmer Towns and Douglas Porter, The Ten Greatest Revivals Ever, 2000
J. Wilbur Chapman, Life and Work of Dwight L. Moody
Mark O. Guldseth, Streams, 1982.
[East Dorset Congregational Church]
Dick B. and Ken B., The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide
Dick B., The Conversion of Bill W., 7-10, 27-28, 72-73
Susan Cheever, My Name is Bill W., 4, 44
Francis Hartigan, Bill W., 175
Robert Thomsen, Bill W., 15, 30-9. 200
[Bible study-in East Dorset and in a 4 year Bible study course at Burr and Burton]
Dick B. and Ken B., The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide
Susan Cheever, My Name is Bill, 37-38, 47-48.
Robert Thomsen, Bill W., 30=39, 200.
[Christian Revivals and Conversion Meetings Bill attended]
Bill Pittman, AA The Way It Began, 79
Francis Hartigan, Bill W., 10-11, 53, 58, 59
Matthew Raphael, Bill W., 77
Susan Cheever, My Name is Bill, 44-45,
Mel B., New Wine, 127=28
[Gospel Rescue Missions]
D. Samuel Hopkins Hadley, Down in Water Street: A Story of Sixteen
Years Life and Work in Water Street Mission: A Sequel to the Life of Jerry McAuley, n.d.
J. Wilbur Chapman, S.H. Hadley of Water Street, 1906.
“Pass It On”
William James. The Varieties of Religious Experience,, 188-9, 146
John Potter Cuyler, Jr., Calvary Church in Action
[Burr and Burton Academy and the Manchester Congregational Churcht]
Dick B. and Ken B., The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide
Bill W.: My First Forty Years
Frederica Templeton, The Castle in the Pasture: Portrait of Burr and
Burton Academy, 2005,, 25, 42. 44, 56, 67
[Young Men’s Christian Association-Bill as President, girl friend as YWCA
President]
Bill W., My First Forty Years, 29
Robert Thomsen, Bill W., 57
Frederica Templeton, The Castle in the Pasture,78-79, 69
[Bill’s turn to Jesus Christ, the “Great Physician,” Who can cure alcoholics].
Dick B., Turning Point, 99-100.
Dick B., The Conversion of Bill W., 47, 94,
Dick B., A New Way In: Telling the Truth, 61-66.
Norman Vincent Peale, The Positive Power of Jesus Christ. 1980.
Dale Mitchel, Silkworth, The Little Doctor Who Loved Drunks
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, 60-63.
Mel B.,
Ebby: The Man Who Sponsored Bill W.
New Wine: The Spiritual Roots of the Twelve Step Miracle
“Lois Remembers: Searcy, Ebby, Bill & Early Days”: Recorded in Dallas
Texas, June 29, 1973.
T. Willard Hunter, It Started Right There
Bill W., My First Forty Years
W. Irving Harris, The Breeze of the Spirit
“Pass It On”
William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience
[Bill Wilson’s first unsuccessful attempts for six months to carry a message]
William Borchert, When Love is Not Enough
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., 191.
Lois Remembers, 94-95
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, 64-65
The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, 9-10, 26.

Alcoholics Anonymous History – The Fellowship takes shape

• How the First Three AAs Got Sober by simply turning to God for help. Bill W. accepted Jesus Christ at Calvary Mission, cried out for help, had his “white light” experience at Towns Hospital, and never drank again. Dr. Bob prayed with a little group at T. Henry’s home in Akron, a miraculous contact from Bill W. occurred, and soon Dr. Bob took his last drink. Bill Dotson (A.A. Number Three) was told by Dr. Bob and Bill to seek God’s help, and he did so—almost immediately being cured and never having another drink.
The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous (Pamphlet P-53)
Dick B. and Ken B., The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide
Dick B. and Ken B. “Introductory Foundations for Christian Recovery” Class
• The Original Akron A.A. Christian Fellowship Program Founded in June, 1935, and the first group—Akron Number One—founded July 4, 1935 when Bill D. was cured.
DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers
Dick B., The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous
Dick B., Turning Point: The Spiritual History of Alcoholics Anonymous
Dick B., Henrietta B. Seiberling: Ohio’s Lady with a Cause
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, 66-72.
• The Principles and Practices of the Original Akron A.A. Pioneers
Dick B. and Ken B., The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide
Dick B., When Early AAs Were Cured and Why
DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers
Sue Smith Windows and Robert R. Smith, Children of the Healer, 1992,
• The Role of the Bible in Earliest A.A.
The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous
DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers
Dick B., The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.’s Roots in the Bible
Dick B., The Good Book-Big Book Guidebook
Dick B., The James Club and the Original A.A. Program’s Absolute Essentials
Dick B., Anne Smith’s Journal 1933-1939
Dick B., Why Early A.A. Succeeded (A Bible Study Primer)
• “Prayer and Meditation” in Earliest A.A.
DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers
Dick B., Good Morning!: Quiet Time, Morning Watch, Meditation, and Early
A.A.
Howard Rose, The Quiet Time
Donald Carruthers, How to Find Reality in Your Morning Devotions, Penn State
College, n.d.
• The “Real Surrender” to Jesus Christ in Early A.A.
Dick B., The Golden Text of A.A.
Mitchell K., How It Worked
Dick B., When Early AAs Were Cured and Why
Dick B. and Ken B., The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide
Dick B., That Amazing Grace
• The Daily Meetings, Family Emphasis, and Close Contacts Among Members—Resemblance to First Century Christianity
Dick B. and Ken B., The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide
• The Counting of Noses in Late 1937 that proved God had shown the founders how to succeed
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, 11
RHS
• The Documented 75% Success Rate in the Akron A.A. Program
Richard K., Early A.A.—Separating Fact from Fiction: How Revisionists Have
Led Our History Astray, 2003
Richard K. New Freedom: Reclaiming Alcoholics Anonymous, 2005
The one-page list in the hand of Dr. Bob—now in the Rockefeller Archives
Dick B. and Ken B., The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide

Bill Wilson’s Preparation for a New, Oxford Group-Oriented Program

• The Preparation of the First Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous