Alcoholics Anonymous - Big Book 4th Edition

Alcoholics Anonymous - Big Book 4th Edition
Average customer rating:

books pertaining to Alcholism

poor service, excellent book

EVERYONE should read this book!!

Recovery

Well, it saved my life!

Alcoholics Anonymous - Big Book 4th Edition
AA Services
Manufacturer: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Alcoholism | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1893007170

Book Description

It's more than a book. It's a way of life. Alcoholics Anonymous-the Big Book-has served as a lifeline to millions worldwide. First published in 1939, Alcoholics Anonymous sets forth cornerstone concepts of recovery from alcoholism and tells the stories of men and women who have overcome the disease. With publication of the second edition in 1955, the third edition in 1976, and now the fourth edition in 2001, the essential recovery text has remained unchanged while personal stories have been added to reflect the growing and diverse fellowship. The long-awaited fourth edition features 24 new personal stories of recovery. Key features and benefits ·the most widely used resource for millions of individuals in recovery ·contains full, original text describing AA program ·updated with 24 new personal stories

Customer Reviews:

books pertaining to Alcholism.......2007-10-18

Purchased two books about alcholism from Amazon and I was very very pleased with the tranaction. Both arrived in very good condition, better than I had expected, and arrived in record time.
I highly recommend these dealers.
Thanks so much,
Mrs. Luckett

poor service, excellent book.......2007-09-17

I wanted this book on CD for a friend that needed it. After a month, I am still waiting for a refund after being charged the full price, receiving one of the four CD's, then being told it would take two weeks to receive the rest, then finally being told the entire book on CD was no longer available. Big Book on CD - A Amazon - F

EVERYONE should read this book!!.......2007-09-07

I had borrowed a copy of this book to read from a local AA group. I got so much from the text, not only as an alcoholic, but as a human being. I think everyone should read this book. I bought two copies: one to keep as a reference and one to pass around. It looks like I'll have to order a few more because both of my copies are out!

Recovery.......2007-08-31

This is the essential book needed by all who have an addiction. It is the first step for all who desire freedom from addictions.

Well, it saved my life!.......2007-06-27

I don't write reviews but I felt I needed to on this one, I truly believe in this book. The 'Big Book' was given to me by a prison chaplain and I have since read it three times. As I was reading it I was thinking to myself, "Jeez, that's me! I've done that!" This book inspired me to get help for an addiction I really didn't care about. (despite the agony it caused my family and friends.) I have since joined several local AA chapters and and am clean and sober. I am 25 years old and had no problem with the English presented within the text. I believe all addicts should read this book with an open mind and you WILL learn from it. Everybody has a diffrent 'rock-bottom' and I was at mine. Sometimes you have to be at the bottom of the pit to force you to look up. Through this book and AA, I have turned my life completly around. No addict can recover on his own, that's where the "Higher Power" comes in. If you are suffering from addiction, I beg you, at least give this book a chance. It may very well save your life.

Average customer rating:

Basically the best
Skip it
EXCELLENT
Please Join Our cult!!!
An important link in the chain of sobriety

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Alcoholics Anonymous
Manufacturer: Hazelden
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Alcoholism | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Big Book 4th Edition
Living Sober
Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
The Little Red Book

ASIN: 0916856011

Book Description

Originally published in 1952, this classic book is used by A.A. members and groups around the world. It lays out the principles by which A.A. members recover and by which the fellowship functions. The basic text clarifies the Steps which constitute the A.A. way of life and the Traditions, by which A.A. maintains its unity.

Customer Reviews:

Basically the best.......2007-08-25

Simply the best basic recovery and personal spirituality text of the 20th century. Universal spiritual principles explained in clear, concise language. This book is the basis for thousands of self-help, spiritual psychotherapy, and self-awareness works that came after. Wonderful, relevant & powerful spiritual philosophy of living one day at a time.

Skip it.......2007-07-04

.

Count me among the legion of AA members who think this book is a buggering mess. Bill Wilson wrote it while in the midst of a 5 year depression and it shows. Save for the essays on Steps 1 and 8, this book leaves most people more confused than enlightened.

I gave it two stars cause some of the Tradition essays have some good stuff if you're willing to wade into them.

.

EXCELLENT.......2007-06-11

IT IS VERY HELPFUL TO READ A FEW PAGES OR A CHAPTER A DAY. IT WILL KEEP YOU ON A EVEN TRACK OF YOUR LIFE. IF YOU DON'T FIND YOUR ANSWERS HERE TRY THE BIG BOOK.

Please Join Our cult!!!.......2007-02-21

The truth is that a newly-sober alcoholic named William Griffith Wilson -- a down-on-his-luck former Wall Street hustler who put on airs of having once been a prosperous stock broker -- just sat down, in December of 1938, and wrote up twelve commandments for the new religious group that he and fellow alcoholic Doctor Robert Smith had started. Those commandments were simply a repackaged version of the practices of a cult religion that was popular at that time, something called "The Oxford Group", or "The Oxford Group Movement", and later, "Moral Re-Armament" -- a religious cult that was created by a deceitful fascist renegade Lutheran minister named Dr. Frank Nathan Daniel Buchman -- a nut-case who actually praised Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler.

Bill Wilson described the writing of the Twelve Steps this way:

Well, we finally got to the point where we really had to say what this book was all about and how this deal works. As I told you this had been a six-step program then.

The idea came to me, well, we need a definite statement of concrete principles that these drunks can't wiggle out of. There can't be any wiggling out of this deal at all and this six-step program had two big gaps which people wiggled out of.

Notice how Bill Wilson considered his fellow alcoholics to be a bunch of cheaters who will "wiggle out of this deal" if they can get away with it -- which Bill won't allow.

And note how Bill Wilson made himself the leader who was entitled to dictate the concrete terms of other people's recovery programs.
Also notice how Bill Wilson considered 'spiritual development' to be a business deal, with a contract that you can't wiggle out of, something like selling your soul in trade for sobriety.

Nowhere in the Twelve Steps does it say that you should quit drinking, or help anyone else to quit drinking, either. Nowhere do the words "sobriety", "recovery", "abstinence", "health", "happiness", "joy", "love", or "love", appear in the Twelve Steps. The word "alcohol" was only mentioned once, where it was patched into the first step as a substitute for the word "sin" -- Bill Wilson wrote,
"we are powerless over alcohol and our lives have become unmanageable",
instead of the Oxford Group slogan,
"we are powerless over sin and have been defeated by it".
And then the phrase "especially alcoholics" was patched into the 12th step as a suggested target for further recruiting efforts:
"...we tried to carry this message to others, especially alcoholics"...
(But regular non-alcoholic people were still fair game for recruiting into Bill's "spiritual fellowship"...)

The Twelve Steps are not a formula for curing or treating alcoholism, and they never were.
The Twelve Steps are not "spiritual principles" and they never were.
The Twelve Steps are cult practices that work to convert people into confirmed true believers in a proselytizing cult religion, just like Frank Buchman's so-called "spiritual principles" did.

1. The Twelve Steps do not work as a program of recovery from drug or alcohol problems.
The A.A. failure rate ranges from 95% to 100%. Sometimes, the A.A. success rate is actually less than zero, which means that A.A. indoctrination is positively harmful to people, and prevents recovery. Some tests have shown that even receiving no treatment at all for alcoholism is much better than receiving A.A. treatment:
One of the most enthusiastic boosters of Alcoholics Anonymous, Professor George Vaillant of Harvard University, who is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (AAWS), showed by his own 8 years of testing of A.A. that A.A. was worse than useless -- that it didn't help the alcoholics any more than no treatment at all, and it had the highest death rate of any treatment program tested -- a death rate that Professor Vaillant himself described as "appalling". While trying to prove that A.A. treatment works, Professor Vaillant actually proved that A.A. kills. After 8 years of A.A. treatment, the score with Dr. Vaillant's first 100 alcoholic patients was: 5 sober, 29 dead, and 66 still drinking.
(Nevertheless, Vaillant is still a Trustee of Alcoholics Anonymous, and he still wants to send all alcoholics to A.A. anyway, to "get an attitude change by confessing their sins to a high-status healer." That is cult religion, not a treatment program for alcoholism.)
The A.A. dropout rate is terrible. Most people who come to A.A. looking for help in quitting drinking are appalled by the narrow-minded atmosphere of fundamentalist religion and faith-healing. The A.A. meeting room has a revolving door. The therapists, judges, and parole officers (many of whom are themselves hidden members of A.A. or N.A.) continually send new people to A.A., but those newcomers vote with their feet once they see what A.A. really is. Even A.A.'s own triennial surveys, conducted by the A.A. headquarters (the GSO), say that:
81% of the newcomers are gone within 30 days,
90% are gone in 3 months, and
95% are gone at the end of a year.
That automatically gives A.A. a failure rate of at least 95%. But the GSO does not count all of those people who only attend a few meetings before quitting -- they don't qualify as "members". (That amounts to "cherry-picking".) If we included them, then the numbers would be much worse.

First there is the propaganda technique of "everybody's doing it": "AA or a similar Twelve-Step program is an integral part of almost all successful recoveries".
That is a complete falsehood. The vast majority of the successful people recover without A.A. or any "support group". It's what "everybody" is doing.
Then they use the propaganda techniques of use of the passive voice and vague suggestions: "It is widely believed that not including a Twelve-Step program in a treatment plan can put a recovering addict on the road to relapse."
It is widely believed by whom? And what do those unnamed people know? What are their qualifications? Are they doctors? Medical school professors? Or salesmen for a 12-Step treatment center? Why should we care what some unnamed invisible fools allegedly believe, anyway?
The authors also use the propaganda technique of fear-mongering: you will be "on the road to relapse" -- you will probably die -- unless you practice Bill Wilson's Twelve Step cult religion.
And then the fluff-headed Pollyanna attitude is outrageous: Just going to the wonderful A.A. meetings is supposedly all that is needed to fix some alcoholics.
But since A.A. has a zero-percent success rate above and beyond the normal rate of spontaneous remission, that cannot possibly be true.

An important link in the chain of sobriety.......2006-11-05

I've been recovering for about four years now, and the "12 and 12" as my sponsor calls it, was a critical component in my achieving sobriety after 38 years of drinking and drugging. The book provides -- in a very simple format -- commentary on the 12 steps of AA as well as the 12 Traditions established long ago to keep AA from turning into something other than what it is and was meant to be: a fellowship of men and women whose sole purpose is to stay sober and to help other alcoholics achieve sobriety.

Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism

Average customer rating:

I don't understand the critism
If you think you have a drinking problem....
It works if YOU work it
Cult Propoganda similar to Scientology
Big Book OK

Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism
AA Services
Manufacturer: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Alcoholism | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Substance Abuse | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Twelve-Step Programs | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1893007162

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

I don't understand the critism.......2007-09-12

I don't really understand the lengths I've seen people go to to discredit this book or the 12 steps in general. I am not a member of AA but I have a family member who was saved literally from the brink of death by NA. The changes in her and in her life have been nothing short of miraculous. If it was a 'cult' that brought about this change in her then I say Thank God for the 12-step cult, for it is truly a force of good.

If you think you have a drinking problem...........2007-08-12

I'm a recovering alcoholic. This book saved my life.

If you think you MIGHT have a drinking problem, buy this book and read the first 164 pages. If you identify with what you're reading, then you might want to consider hitting a few meetings.

You have to get beyond the prose of the author. It's very 1930's. Since he knew it would be saving a lot of lives, he wanted it to sound really important.

Many like me read this book, and found that in many cases, it seemed like the book someone stole a story out of our own experiences.

It works if YOU work it.......2007-06-23

As an active, voluntary member of AA I must say that the program of recovery outlined in this book works *IF* you choose to work it. AA is not a cult, expects nothing in terms of finances and only SUGGEST'S a few very simple applications to lead a successful, joyous and sober life. AA is group therapy. It is a place for people to share their experience, strength and hope with each other so that they may stay abstinent from alcohol.
The "Big Book" opened my eyes as to how I was living. Reading the personal stories, being able to identify with the pain, the misery of alcoholism and the newfound hope has completely changed my life. I finally felt as if I were no longer alone. The 12 steps are only suggested and there is no need to believe in God at all. If you are an alcoholic or a family member or friend of an alcoholic I suggest you read this book. It is one of many solutions to tackle alcoholism and statistically AA has very high success rates. It works for some and doesn't for others just like everything else in life.
For those who don't think alcoholism is a disease, I suggest you write the American Medical Association and tell them they are wrong. Or feel free to bare witness to the blameless children, the destroyed marriages, the missed opportunities and the early grave that active alcoholism guarantees.

Cult Propoganda similar to Scientology.......2007-02-21

1. The Twelve Steps do not work as a program of recovery from drug or alcohol problems.
The A.A. failure rate ranges from 95% to 100%. Sometimes, the A.A. success rate is actually less than zero, which means that A.A. indoctrination is positively harmful to people, and prevents recovery. Some tests have shown that even receiving no treatment at all for alcoholism is much better than receiving A.A. treatment:
One of the most enthusiastic boosters of Alcoholics Anonymous, Professor George Vaillant of Harvard University, who is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (AAWS), showed by his own 8 years of testing of A.A. that A.A. was worse than useless -- that it didn't help the alcoholics any more than no treatment at all, and it had the highest death rate of any treatment program tested -- a death rate that Professor Vaillant himself described as "appalling". While trying to prove that A.A. treatment works, Professor Vaillant actually proved that A.A. kills. After 8 years of A.A. treatment, the score with Dr. Vaillant's first 100 alcoholic patients was: 5 sober, 29 dead, and 66 still drinking.
(Nevertheless, Vaillant is still a Trustee of Alcoholics Anonymous, and he still wants to send all alcoholics to A.A. anyway, to "get an attitude change by confessing their sins to a high-status healer." That is cult religion, not a treatment program for alcoholism.)
The A.A. dropout rate is terrible. Most people who come to A.A. looking for help in quitting drinking are appalled by the narrow-minded atmosphere of fundamentalist religion and faith-healing. The A.A. meeting room has a revolving door. The therapists, judges, and parole officers (many of whom are themselves hidden members of A.A. or N.A.) continually send new people to A.A., but those newcomers vote with their feet once they see what A.A. really is. Even A.A.'s own triennial surveys, conducted by the A.A. headquarters (the GSO), say that:
81% of the newcomers are gone within 30 days,
90% are gone in 3 months, and
95% are gone at the end of a year.
That automatically gives A.A. a failure rate of at least 95%. But the GSO does not count all of those people who only attend a few meetings before quitting -- they don't qualify as "members". (That amounts to "cherry-picking".) If we included them, then the numbers would be much worse.

First there is the propaganda technique of "everybody's doing it": "AA or a similar Twelve-Step program is an integral part of almost all successful recoveries".
That is a complete falsehood. The vast majority of the successful people recover without A.A. or any "support group". It's what "everybody" is doing.
Then they use the propaganda techniques of use of the passive voice and vague suggestions: "It is widely believed that not including a Twelve-Step program in a treatment plan can put a recovering addict on the road to relapse."
It is widely believed by whom? And what do those unnamed people know? What are their qualifications? Are they doctors? Medical school professors? Or salesmen for a 12-Step treatment center? Why should we care what some unnamed invisible fools allegedly believe, anyway?
The authors also use the propaganda technique of fear-mongering: you will be "on the road to relapse" -- you will probably die -- unless you practice Bill Wilson's Twelve Step cult religion.
And then the fluff-headed Pollyanna attitude is outrageous: Just going to the wonderful A.A. meetings is supposedly all that is needed to fix some alcoholics.
But since A.A. has a zero-percent success rate above and beyond the normal rate of spontaneous remission, that cannot possibly be true.

Big Book OK.......2006-12-15

Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it.
Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held.
Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books.
Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin.
Believe nothing just because someone else believes it.
Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true.

I took many ideas from this book and applied it to my own life. It was very helpful

Average customer rating:

A greatly overlooked recovery book
Happy Customer
Great book
AA Success
Extremely Useful

The Little Red Book
Anonymous
Manufacturer: Hazelden
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Alcoholism | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
Alcoholics Anonymous - Big Book 4th Edition
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Twenty-Four Hours a Day (Hazelden Education Materials)
The Annotated AA Handbook : A Companion to the Big Book

ASIN: 0894860046

Book Description

One of the most-used and best-loved study companions to the Big Book, "Alcoholics Anonymous", this little book has helped millions put the Twelve Steps to work in their daily lives. Originally designed as a collection of Twelve Step suggestions for A.A. beginners, "The Little Red Book" offers those new to recovery - and those seeking a deeper meaning in the Twelve Steps - advice on program work, sponsorship, spirituality, and much more. This fund of knowledge offers support, encouragement, and wisdom in the search for peace of mind and contented sobriety.

Customer Reviews:

A greatly overlooked recovery book.......2007-09-09

This is a Hazelden book specifically written as a study aid to The Big Book. It helps to clarify and illuminate the 12 step process and is often used by sponsors as they guide their sponsees through the steps. It is a tool which, if used in addition to (and not in replacement of)the basic program literature, may add a layer of depth and understanding to the step process. This book is also used as the basis of step-study groups in some areas. It appears to have been used to a much greater extent in the past than it is now and it deserves a second look for what it may have to offer.

Happy Customer.......2007-07-15

The item I ordered arrived very quickly and in terrific condition. I will gladly utilize this seller again

Great book.......2007-05-24

Re: Mike McF. I don't think AA is for you, but I can assure you that AA does work for some people. Live and let live one day at a time easy does it.

AA Success.......2007-02-21

Extremely Useful.......2007-02-16

Useful and worthy book for anyone wanting to practice the 12 steps in their life.

Back To Basics - The Alcoholics Anonymous Beginners Meetings "Here are the steps we took..." in Four One Hour Sessions

Average customer rating:

Great book!
The evolution behind the book
There Is A Hunger in AA
Very helpful and simple
Recommend Strongly

Back To Basics - The Alcoholics Anonymous Beginners Meetings "Here are the steps we took..." in Four One Hour Sessions
P. Wally
Manufacturer: Faith with Works Pub. Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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How To Listen To God: A Guide for Successful Living Through the Practice of Two-way Prayer
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Alcoholics Anonymous: Reproduction of the First Printing of the First Edition

ASIN: 0965772012

Book Description

In this book, Wally P. will take you through the Twelve Steps as they were taken by the early A.A. pioneers. You will learn how to develop a direct two-way communication with the "God of your understanding", and how to follow the "Guidance" you receive. You will have the opportunity to experience the life changing spiritual awakening that occurs as the direct result of completing the Twelve Steps in four one-hour sessions. In addition, you will learn how to become a "life changer" by carrying this life-saving message of hope to others.

Customer Reviews:

Great book!.......2007-09-03

A small group of us chose to go throught the steps using this book. Any STEP work is a good idea. I believe this book is easy to understand and provides the guidelines needed to get the work done!!

The evolution behind the book .......2007-05-24

I havent gotten past the evolution of how we got to this stage where its become so serious for the Fellowship .
We have so many people who just dont have a clue of what the program is and what the Fellowship is .We have to know where we have been before we can deal with the present .

There Is A Hunger in AA.......2007-03-31

After having had the Back To Basics Beginners Meeting shared with me after several years of contented sobriety, I was excited to have found a perfect guide to help people in sharing the message of AA.This is a perfect tool to guide the sponsor/sponsee relationship in the direction needed to not only introduce the 12 steps but also to re-inforce the principles of AA in all our affairs.
The response from not only new members but also those with various degrees of continuous sobriety has been beyond my wildest expectations and show a definite hunger in the members of AA for a duplicateable program of recovery commited to the foundations of our program of "taking the steps" not just talking about them.

Very helpful and simple.......2007-02-15

Good book, and helpful guide to work the 12 steps, especially if done with a more experienced and sober "sharing partner". I couldn't do this by myself. Great history into A.A. a bit opinionated, but well worth the reading, and trying. Enjoy life... Look at the alternative.

Recommend Strongly.......2006-02-17

The history is well documented. The procedure is clear and we're seeing good results.

The Big Book Unplugged: A Young Person's Guide to Alcoholics Anonymous

Average customer rating:

Inspiration for many
Here is how it Works.

The Big Book Unplugged: A Young Person's Guide to Alcoholics Anonymous
Anonymous
Manufacturer: Hazelden
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Alcoholism | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

Young, Sober & Free: Experience, Strength, and Hope for Young Adults
Twenty-Four Hours a Day for Teens: Daily Meditations
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ASIN: 1592850383

Book Description

A big part of figuring out how to stay clean and sober is learning how other people manage to do it. That's exactly why the Big Book, "Alcoholics Anonymous", was written way back in 1939. A small group of alcoholics thought that maybe they could help each other - and help other alcoholics - by sharing their own stories about the disease and how they overcame it. It turns our that a lot of the stuff they wrote about back then holds true for alcoholics and addicts today.

Customer Reviews:

Inspiration for many.......2007-07-30

I work in a substance abuse treatment center, and I have found that people that started drinking or using when they were young relate to this book easily. It puts things in simple terms and uses real stories to portray the points. I feel the language is foul at times, but the author does use it to make a point and relate to younger people. I'm buying this book for my father who has been sober for 15 years through AA, and is still working the program "one day at a time."

Here is how it Works........2007-03-15

1. The Twelve Steps do not work as a program of recovery from drug or alcohol problems.
o The A.A. failure rate ranges from 95% to 100%. Sometimes, the A.A. success rate is actually less than zero, which means that A.A. indoctrination is positively harmful to people, and prevents recovery. Some tests have shown that even receiving no treatment at all for alcoholism is much better than receiving A.A. treatment:
o One of the most enthusiastic boosters of Alcoholics Anonymous, Professor George Vaillant of Harvard University, who is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (AAWS), showed by his own 8 years of testing of A.A. that A.A. was worse than useless -- that it didn't help the alcoholics any more than no treatment at all, and it had the highest death rate of any treatment program tested -- a death rate that Professor Vaillant himself described as "appalling". While trying to prove that A.A. treatment works, Professor Vaillant actually proved that A.A. kills. After 8 years of A.A. treatment, the score with Dr. Vaillant's first 100 alcoholic patients was: 5 sober, 29 dead, and 66 still drinking.
(Nevertheless, Vaillant is still a Trustee of Alcoholics Anonymous, and he still wants to send all alcoholics to A.A. anyway, to "get an attitude change by confessing their sins to a high-status healer." That is cult religion, not a treatment program for alcoholism.)
o The A.A. dropout rate is terrible. Most people who come to A.A. looking for help in quitting drinking are appalled by the narrow-minded atmosphere of fundamentalist religion and faith-healing. The A.A. meeting room has a revolving door. The therapists, judges, and parole officers (many of whom are themselves hidden members of A.A. or N.A.) continually send new people to A.A., but those newcomers vote with their feet once they see what A.A. really is. Even A.A.'s own triennial surveys, conducted by the A.A. headquarters (the GSO), say that:
X 81% of the newcomers are gone within 30 days,
X 90% are gone in 3 months, and
X 95% are gone at the end of a year.
That automatically gives A.A. a failure rate of at least 95%. But the GSO does not count all of those people who only attend a few meetings before quitting -- they don't qualify as "members". (That amounts to "cherry-picking".) If we included them, then the numbers would be much worse.
And also note that the claimed five percent of A.A. newcomers who are still left after one year is exactly the same number as the usual rate of spontaneous remission among alcoholics -- five percent per year. That is, in any randomly-selected population of alcoholics, approximately five percent per year will finally get sick and tired of being sick and tired, and they will just quit drinking. And the Harvard Medical School says that 80% of those successful quitters do it by themselves, alone, without any "treatment program" or any "support group".
If we subtract the normal spontaneous remission rate for alcoholism of five percent per year from A.A.'s claimed success rate of five percent, we get zero for A.A.'s real effective cure rate.
A.A. does not actually make anybody quit drinking; it just takes the credit for the people who were going to quit anyway. A.A. is just taking the credit for peoples' efforts to save their own lives.
o The Twelve Steps are actually a hopelessly bad program for recovery:
X Cult religion is not a good cure for alcoholism, and A.A. most assuredly is a cult religion.
X One of the biggest problems with the Twelve-Step program is the learned helplessness caused by the First Step, where people are taught to confess that they are "powerless over alcohol." This leads many people to believe that once they have a drink, that a full-blown relapse and total loss of self-control is inevitable and unavoidable. So some people go on suicidally-intense binges, thinking that it is pointless to try to resist temptation.2 --
X Step Two is just as bad: it teaches people that they are insane, and that only a Supernatural Being can restore them to sanity -- which means that they are helpless, and cannot heal themselves.
X Then Step Three teaches a lifestyle of infantile narcissism and passive dependency, where A.A. members turn control of their wills and their lives over to "the care of God as we understood Him", and then they expect God to take care of them and run their lives for them, and solve all their problems, and wait on them hand and foot, and do all of the hard work for them from then on...
"Let Go And Let God"
is their official motto, their lifestyle, and their approach to problem-solving.
X Then Steps Four through Ten induce guilt in the members by forcing members to make lists of all of their sins and flaws, and "defects of character" and "moral shortcomings", and confess every intimate dirty little secret to another A.A. member who isn't even ordained clergy, or even sworn to secrecy.
X In Step Eleven you are supposed to "channel" God and receive psychic work orders and power.
X Then Step Twelve tells you to go recruiting, to draft more alcoholics into this madness.
o There is also experimental evidence that the A.A. teachings about powerlessness lead to binge drinking. In a controlled study of A.A.'s effectiveness, court-mandated offenders who had been sent to A.A. for several months were engaging in five times as much binge drinking as the no-treatment control group which got no A.A. "help".
o A.A. boosters and propagandists constantly repeat the Big Lie that A.A. works great, and A.A. with its Twelve Steps is the way that everybody recovers:

Not God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous

Average customer rating:

A Complete Compendium of AA
helpful background
Not God
Inciteful history that provides a good read.
Excellent History and a Great Read

Not God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous
Ernest Kurtz
Manufacturer: Hazelden
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0894860658

Book Description

The most complete history of A.A. ever written. Not-God contains anecdotes and excerpts from the diaries, correspondence, and occasional memoirs of A.A.'s early figures. A fascinating, fast-moving, and authoritative account of the discovery and development of the program and fellowship that we know today as Alcoholics Anonymous.

Customer Reviews:

A Complete Compendium of AA.......2007-09-23

Ernie Kurtz made a big research project for his doctorate and we are the recepients of a lot of history both written and in the oral tradition all put into one volumne. Not only a good read but a reference manual.

helpful background.......2006-02-17

in depth history of aa beginnings, including much insight into the formative reasons for the successes and failures of this program. very helpful for someone new to aa, trying to grasp the essence of the program.

Not God.......2004-08-29

Wonderfully insightful for all. Splendidly illustrates the history and formation of AA and it's painstaking growth through the early formative years of AA.
A great read!

Inciteful history that provides a good read........2001-03-24

Not God provides an inciteful and thoughtful study of the history of AA. It will provide the experienced 12 stepper further understanding of their program. Additionally, readers not already conversant with the subject will learn and grow from this introduction.

Excellent History and a Great Read.......2000-10-27

Kurtz masterfully captures the early days of AA. This book is a must read for students of the 12 Steps and anyone interested in this spiritual program of recovery that has improved the lives of millions. -- Frank D., Author of The Annotated AA Handbook

A Program For You: A Guide To the Big Book Design For Living

Average customer rating:

An amazing book
A Program For You

A Program For You: A Guide To the Big Book Design For Living
Anonymous
Manufacturer: Hazelden
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Alcoholism | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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A Sponsorship Guide for 12-Step Programs

ASIN: 0894867415

Book Description

A Program for You interprets the original A.A. program as described in the book Alcoholics Anonymous and serves as the basis for studying the Big Book. This guide provides us with a thorough understanding of Twelve Step principles and includes exercises on how we can apply them to our lives.

Customer Reviews:

An amazing book.......2005-09-14

I had the privilege to attend the weekend workshop on which this book is based about six years ago. It was a life-changing experience for me in my recovery from food addiction. This book is almost a word-for-word replica of that workshop (and was approved by the leaders of the workshop). For anyone struggling to understand the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, read this book immediately. It is true to the heart and soul of the "big Book" and completely modernizes the information so that it's easy to understand in today's world.

A Program For You.......2000-04-07

A very readable, thorough, and helpful overview of the AA Big Book. This is actually a textual version of the well known weekend long Big Book Study seminars given by two gentlemen who shall remain anonymous as in the book. I found this to be a great way to delve into the Big Book again and look at it in a structured fashion. Once you are finished with this book you will have learned about the history of AA, the history of the Big Book, read the Big Book, and actually studied the Big Book. It also contains general information on the disease of alcoholism. I believe that this is a refreshing look at the Big Book and will lead you on the path that the original AA members intended for you to follow. Most AA members at some time feel that they have received most of the information that the Big Book has to offer, this book will give you a new plan to study the Big Book and will renew your interest in the wonderful program of AA.

Paths to Recovery: Al-Anon's Steps, Traditions and Concepts

Average customer rating:

Pathways to Recovery
Very pleased
Paths to Recovery
The Most Substantial of the Al-Anon Books

Paths to Recovery: Al-Anon's Steps, Traditions and Concepts
Al-Anon Family Group Head Inc
Manufacturer: Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Alcoholism | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0910034311

Customer Reviews:

Pathways to Recovery.......2007-08-31

Pathways to Recovery is an excellent book for recovery from living with an Alcoholic or just help with having healthy relationships.

Very pleased.......2007-06-08

When I received the book, I was very pleased with the appearance, not bends, or anything in the cover. Delivery was very fast.

Paths to Recovery.......2007-02-17

This book is a treasure to have, and is an excellent book for anyone who is folling the Alanon program.

The Most Substantial of the Al-Anon Books.......2006-07-18

This is such a valuable book for anyone who's ready to get down and do real Al-Anon work.
Concise, rich writing about each step followed by questions skillfully designed to elicit true feelings which so often are blocked by old thought patterns.
If I could have only one Al-Anon book, this would be it.

The Lois Wilson Story: When Love is Not Enough: The Authorized Biography of the Cofounder of Al-Anon

Average customer rating:

Al-non
Message for everyone
When Love Is Not Enough
When Love is not enough
Excellent transaction

The Lois Wilson Story: When Love is Not Enough: The Authorized Biography of the Cofounder of Al-Anon
William Borchert
Manufacturer: Hazelden
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1592853285

Book Description

A long-awaited look at the unsung story of Lois Wilson, wife of the famously anonymous Bill W. Acclaimed author and screenwriter William G. Borchert does a masterful job in revealing the life and times of this spirited and determined woman, exploring the tender emotional territory beyond Loiss role in the formation of AA and the subsequent creation of Al-Anon. From her privileged childhood in turn-of-the-century New York City, to her unexpected but exhilarating courtship with the dashing Bill Wilson, to her socialite status as a "Wall Street Wife" in the Roaring Twenties, to the couples audacious cross-country motorcycle excursions in the 1930s, Lois was every bit the adventure-seeker her legendary husband was. But nothing could have prepared her for the chaos, pain, and loss caused by her beloved Bills seventeen-year descent into the depths of alcoholism. In the end, however, her husbands addiction proved not to be the tragic undoing of this brilliant, promising couple, but rather the beginning of one of the twentieth centurys most important social movements. Features a 16-page section of black-and-white archival photographs.

Customer Reviews:

Al-non.......2007-07-15

For all those struggling with loved ones with the disease of alcoholism, this book is excellent.

Message for everyone.......2007-06-06

The Lois Wilson Story: When Love is not Enough
By: William G. Borchert
Hazelden
Center City, Minnesota 55012-0176

Lois Wilson was an amazing, wonderful woman and the world is a better place because she and her husband were in it. Author William G. Borchert used his words to express this woman's life, her trials, tribulations, and sanctification. Lois Wilson was the co-founder of the Al-Anon, and Alateen fellowships. Her husband Bill Wilson was one of the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous.

This amazing book about her life starts as a flash back. It begins with introducing you to a very unhappy Lois in the early 1930's. Then it shifts to her beginnings. The book takes your hand and walks you through the entire life of Lois Wilson, her family, and some of her friends. It gives you explicit details about her life, how AA came about, Bill, and Al-Anon.

Lois met her husband Bill, who was four years her junior, in Vermont. This would prove to be a love that stood the test of time and alcohol. They married in January, before he went of to fight in WWI. They had a beautiful wedding in her parent's house in Brooklyn, and they were married for fifty-three years.

Lois's life with Bill was full of ups and downs. He was in the Army, and then an investigator on Wall Street. Bill was a genius. He began his drinking days when he was overseas, and it continued as it was seen as acceptable in his profession. This later carried on into him becoming an alcoholic.

Lois was forced to be the breadwinner of the family as Bill's drinking got worse and cost them everything that they had. Through all the years that she went through with him having this horrible sickness, she began to change and harbor much resentment. To add to her pain she was unable to have children, and when they tried to adopt, a friend put a stop to it because of Bill's drinking. Later Mrs. Wilson came to realize that it was for the best that they did not have children, and she looked at all the alcoholics in AA as her dear children.

As Bill started to recover after many hard years of his illness, Lois was still hurting inside with deep resentment, and anger. Bill formed Alcoholics Anonymous with Dr. Bob Smith, in Akron, Ohio. He found that the only way for him to stay sober was to be with another drunk. This revelation only injured the already wounded heart of Lois even more. She had wanted to be the reason and the one that caused her husband to be sober and to stay that way.

As the fellowship of AA continued to grow, one day Lois went out on the porch and noticed that there were other wives just sitting in the cars that lined the street. She went out to the other women and invited them in. She had a revelation that there were others out there hurting just as badly as she from this horrible alcohol demon. Thus started her little kitchen group. As the years progressed, this kitchen group concept developed into what is now Al-Anon. They followed the same twelve steps that AA did, but they also had their own twelve steps to follow as well.

Once it was realized that the children were being left out Lois, and some of the volunteers who helped with Al-Anon decided that something needed to be done for them, thus the dawning of Alateen. It was headed by one of the original volunteers, and each group was set up to be fostered by an Al-Anon member. Lois took particular interest and joy over the group for the children.

Because of the will and determination of Bill and Lois wisdom, there is now what is called a "cure" for alcoholics, and their families. Alcoholism is a disease that effects all members of a family, co-workers, and even some people in the community. Monumental steps were made by these two amazing people, and none of it would have happened if Lois had not stayed by Bill's side.

This is a story about heartache, pain, stamina, faith, and above all love. God had both Lois and Bill Wilson here for a reason, and I believe that they fulfilled their calling. Mr. Borchert did a wonderful job of telling the story, and letting the reader feel that they also personally knew Lois Wilson. This was a hard life to read about, but I learned a lot from the experiences in the pages. I hope that God will use this book to expand understanding about alcoholism, and the strong family that it takes to support one.

When Love Is Not Enough.......2007-04-10

This book should be available through every public library for those who do not have it on their own shelf.

When Love is not enough.......2007-03-21

This was very well done, and I think illustrated Lois Wilson's personality. One topic I wish the author had added a little more detail on is the issue of co-dependency.

Excellent transaction.......2007-03-13

Excellent book and tranaction. Received as promised and in excellent shape.
Thanks you Seller

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