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145 of 161 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lifesaver, March 21, 2004
This review is from: Alcoholics Anonymous: The Big Book, 4th Edition (Paperback)
It perplexes me there are so few reviews of this great book. Last time I checked, there were eight -- at least it's double digits now. It perplexes me because this book has saved literally millions of lives. For anyone struggling with alcoholism, this is the way to get sober. The principles of the program can -- and have been -- applied to just about any addiction. This program is the foundation of Cocaine Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and every other 12 step program. This is where it all started. My pastor mentioned in church just today how the sprituality of people who've been in 12 step programs is sometimes especially striking. That's true. It's because if a person follows the 12 steps, they will find it a life-changing experience. They will not be exactly the same person they were when they started. For more on this, see a passage in the book known in the program that took its name from the book's title as "the promises." If you read this book, also read the accompanying 12 Steps and 12 Traditions volume. The two go together -- though if you read only one read this one. The book is especially helpful in dealing with the issue of a higher power. The book goes way beyond what someone will find in a typical AA meeting. A person who is attempting sobriety needs this book, a sponsor and the meetings. This is, statistically, the best shot there is at sobriety. This book and the program it spawned are an extraordinary gift for those who choose to accept them. The newcomer might find the book somewhat dated. Stick with it. It's worth it. And, as time goes by, it will become clearer and clearer.
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58 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the World's Greatest Books, December 21, 2006
This review is from: Alcoholics Anonymous: The Big Book, 4th Edition (Paperback)
I read the AA Big Book and joined Overeaters Anonymous thinking I was a compulsive overeater. Perhaps I would have been an alcoholic, but my body chemistry never tolerated alcohol, smoking or drugs, so I was spared that. It turned out the weight problem was also a body chemistry thing, and the time I spent in diligent application to the 12-step program led me to realize I wasn't a compulsive overeater after all.
Reading the AA Big Book was fantastic for me, and I recommend it to anyone. If you are not an addict, it will certainly not harm you to try a 12-step program. You are likely to come out, as I did after 10 months, with a deep respect for what these programs do. Miracles are everyday events in these groups.
Some of the people who have written reviews here resisted the tenets of AA because they are unwilling to submit to a higher power. That's human nature. Anything else is itself a miracle.
My concerns about AA prior to reading the book were the opposite. I am a Christian and I was under the impression that the 12 steps are in conflict with that. Such is not at all the case. No one is going to try to hypnotize you!
Nor is a 12-step program going to tell you to avoid medical help. One of AA's founders was a doctor, and right from the start AA began saving lives that doctors knew they could not save. It still happens in AA, daily.
If you are ready to be inspired, read this book. You will understand yourself and other people better. If you don't feel ready to be inspired, maybe you need to read it even more.
I noticed one of the reviews complained about archaic language in the book. It's not that archaic. You don't need a glossary to read it, as you do with the King James Bible or Shakespeare! For me, the language serves as a reminder of how long this organization has been helping people, and of its amazing roots.
Be sure to read the AA 12 Steps and 12 Traditions, too. If you know much about organizations, the 12 Traditions will blow your mind. AA is truly a non profit organization, not one just for tax purposes. Their traditions include the deliberate avoidance of accumulating wealth and property for the organization. It's about addict helping addict, without judgement but also with a centered perspective that casts light on truth.
The simple but powerful structure of meetings--including those held in online chat rooms--as well as the tradition of anonymity make AA a unique safe place. Reading this book is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself and for the people you care about, addicted or not. You can also read it free online (just Google AA Big Book and it's one of the first entries), but for me that doesn't replace a real book to hold and read. It would be hard to find a better investment than the purchase of the AA Big Book. ---Kathy Diamond Davis
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56 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Main Text of AA, November 30, 1999
By A Customer
This book, originally titled "Alcoholics" by Anonymous, is the life saving text of Alcoholics Anonymous. So as not to confuse it with the name of the organization, AAs refer to it as "The Big Book" (one edition of this has 575 pages.) It was first published in 1939 and primarially written by an out-of-work salesman who had a "Spiritual Awakening." And it shows in the dated, flowery writing style and the rural American Christian theology spread throughout. But the message! If you are an alcoholic, as I am, you won't be able to put it down. The idea that we are not alone and there is an escape from alcoholism is amazing, life-saving, and even miraculous to those of us who have "been there." The Big Book is also useful to those trying to understand the alcoholic or addict in thier midst. "Alcoholics Anonymous" outlines twelve suggested steps to recovery. The steps are designed to allow those in recovery to live lives free from the anger, resentments, depression, self-centeredness, and self-loathing that haunted us while living in our addictions. Critics of the book (and the organization) generally point to the spiritual aspects of the book and refer to it as a cult. Proponents of the book shake thier heads at these comments and beleive them to be extremist remarks from individiuals who are unwilling give up thier addictions. Personally, I'd rather the particular religious beliefs of the author were not strongly stressed. And I'd rather he had found a ghost writer. But the book still stands as the most amazing and useful tool for addiction recovery ever presented to humanity.
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