Alcoholics Anonymous (The AA "Big Book")
New York: Works Publishing Company, 1939.
Alcoholics Anonymous (The AA "Big Book")
New York: Works Publishing Company, 1939. First edition. A Fine copy of the book, bright, crisp, square and completely unused. Pristine. In a Near Fine dust jacket with several short tears at the top of the spine, one tear at the base of the spine that has been reinforced with tape and minor loss at the corners. One of approximately 5,000 first edition copies. But if you are familiar with this book, you already know how scarce the dust jacket is, let alone one this lovely. A truly remarkable survivor that has been cherished by consecutive members of the organization for the past 45 years without being offered for sale.
One of the best selling books of all time having sold more than 30 million copies, "The Big Book" inspired one of America’s longest lasting and most enduring social movements. First published in 1939, "Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered from Alcoholism" is colloquially known as "The Big Book" because of the heft of the paper used in this edition. By William Griffith Wilson (Bill W.) and Robert Holbrook Smith (Dr. Bob), the book chronicles both their personal stories and the path they took to redemption that would later become known as the “twelve step program.” "The Big Book" has been translated into numerous languages and was designated by The Library of Congress as one of the 88 books that shaped America. “Lest this title should arouse the risibles in any reader let me state that the general thesis of "Alcoholics Anonymous" is more soundly based psychologically than any other treatment of the subject I have ever come upon. And it is a subject not to be neglected, for, irrespective of whether we live under repeal or prohibition, there will be alcohol addicts, precisely as there are drug addicts” (Contemporary New York Times review). Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. (Item #1170)
