The Akron Genesis Of Alcoholics Anonymous

The story of A.A.'s birth at Dr. Bob's Home in Akron on June 10, 1935. It tells what early AAs did in their meetings, homes, and hospital visits; what they read; and how their ideas developed from the Bible, the Oxford Group, and Christian literature. It depicts the roles of A.A. founders and their wives, and of Henrietta Seiberling, and T. Henry & Clarace Williams. Foreword by John F. Seiberling Finally--a history that ties together the events in New York and Akron during A.A.'s formative years from 1931-1939. It tells of the Bud Firestone Miracle and the 1933 Oxford Group events in Akron. Then of the early meetings in New York and Akron. It details the specific contributions to A.A. that T. Henry and Clarace Williams, Henrietta Seiberling, Bill Wilson, and Dr. Bob and Anne Smith made at A.A.'s Akron birthplace. It covers the when, where and how of A.A.'s birth. There are details as to surrenders, hospitalization, meetings, literature, Bible study and prayer and meditation, and what the Akron people did in their homes. And there are precise traces from the Bible, the Four Absolutes, Christian writers, and the Oxford Group into the Twelve Steps and the Big Book. This book is about what Akron gave to A.A. and what A.A. can attribute to its Akron birthplace.

The complete history of where, how, & from whom Alcoholics Anonymous obtained its basic, spiritual recovery ideas--particularly as they originated & developed at its Akron, Ohio birthplace. Details on how A.A. began; what early A.A.s did at their meetings, their homes, & hospitals; & what they did in Bible study, prayer, quiet times, & reading. Specific 12-step sources in the Bible, Christian literature, & the Oxford Group--of which A.A. was an integral part at its beginning. The specific contributions of A.A.'s Co-Founders, Dr. Bob & Bill W.; Dr. Bob's wife, Anne ("Mother of A.A."); Henrietta Seiberling; T. Henry & Clarice Williams; Reverend Samuel Shoemaker; & the Oxford Group. LIBRARY JOURNAL recommends, "Purchase where there is demand for the history of A.A." This title is one of a series by Dick B. on "A.A.'s Good Book Connection" & is an invaluable tool in understanding the fifty percent success rate of early A.A. Other titles: DR. BOB'S LIBRARY; ANNE SMITH'S SPIRITUAL WORKBOOK; THE OXFORD GROUP & ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS; & THE BOOKS EARLY AAs READ FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH. Titles reviewed in LIBRARY JOURNAL, BOOKSTORE JOURNAL, SOBER TIMES, & FOR A CHANGE. Featured in major newspapers such as THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER.

Dick B. is today regarded as the leading A.A. historian. He is a writer, Bible student, retired attorney, and active recovered member of the A.A. fellowship. He has brought to the history table: (1) His strong belief in the Creator, Christianity, and the Bible as the main source book for truth. (2) His long and fervent work with newcomers in helping them to overcome their alcoholism with the power of God. (3) His talents in writing and research that emerged from his work at the University of California where he received a Phi Beta Kappa key, his editorship of the Stanford Law Review, and his vigorous practice in writing and presenting legal briefs before many many courts. This mid-point treatise had been followed by and added up to 33 A.A. history titles so far. This book is foundational.

Intended for use by recovery newcomers, educational and religious alcoholism programs, recovery groups and treatment centers, and substance abuse agencies. Here, for the first time, is a simple, accurate, concise statement of the origins, trends, changes, and detours leading up to, involved in, and evolving from A.A.'s Big Book and Twelve Step spiritual program of recovery. A must for introducing the A.A./12 Step subject usefully

Dick B. is a writer, historian, Bible student, retired attorney, and recovered AA. He is active in the fellowship and has sponsored more than 100 men in their recovery. He has devoted 18 years to investigating, researching, analyzing, and disseminating the facts about early A.A. origins, roots, history, principles, and practices. He has published 33 titles and more than 170 articles on the subject and frequently speaks within and outside the fellowship. He is the leading A.A. early history scholar.

More than half a century has gone by since A.A.'s historic 1955 convention in St. Louis, when the founding members passed on to the entire Fellowship the responsibility for the three Legacies of Recovery, Unity, and Service. This book takes A.A. members and interested friends on a quick tour of the Convention, traces the history and development of the Three Legacies, and looks at A.A. through the eyes of some early non-alcoholics who influenced the Fellowship's history. The first part is co-founder Bill W.'s reminiscent sketch of the Convention, in which he takes an appreciative look at many of the participants and reflects on events that shaped A.A. The second part consists of Bill's three Convention talks, edited and enlarged, on the Legacies of Recovery, Unity, and Service. Here is Bill's story -- how he drank, got sober, met Dr. Bob and other founding members, and how they struggled together to keep A.A. going, with little guidance beyond the lessons of experience. Then Bill moves on to describe how the Twelve Traditions developed as A.A.'s protective shield against the human faults that lead alcoholics into trouble, drunk or sober. And he finishes by laying out the development of A.A. services, culminating in the formation of the General Service Conference to serve as guadian of A.A.'s Traditions and world services. In the third part, readers will meet five early friends of A.A.: Dr. Harry Tiebout, the first psychiatrist to openly espouse A.A.: Dr. W.W. Bauer of the American Medical Association; Jesuit Father Edward Dowling and Episcopal priest Dr. Samuel Shoemaker, both of whom helped shape A.A.'s spiritual principles; and Benard B. Smith, attorney and longtime chair of the General Service Board. These nonalcoholics tell of their association with A.A., the part they played in its development, and their view of what the future holds.