About The Big Book
Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism is a 1939 basic text describing how to seek recovery from alcoholism. The Big Book was written by William G. Bill W." Wilson, one of the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, with the help of various editors. The composition process was not collaborative other than editing. Bill W. wrote all the book's chapters except "To Employers", which was authored by Bill W.'s right-hand man, Hank Parkhurst. Parkhurst influenced the more liberal notions of "God as we understand him" and "your own conception of God." Bill W.'s group in New York and Robert Holbrook Smith, the other AA founder, in Akron, Ohio, exchanged drafts of sections. Dr. Bob made no major changes. It is the predecessor of the well-known "twelve-step method" widely used to treat various addiction conditions and behaviors, including alcoholism, narcotic addiction, and marijuana addiction, as well as overeating, sex addiction, and gambling addiction, with strong spiritual and pro-social emphases. It is one of the best-selling books of all time, having sold 30 million copies as of August 2009. In 2011, Time magazine placed the book on its list of the 100 best and most influential books written in English since 1923, the year in which the magazine was first published. In 2012, the Library of Congress designated it as one of 88 "Books that Shaped America."
