Dr. Bob and His Library: A Major A.A. Spiritual Source [Paperback]

Dick B. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 1998

One of author Dick B.'s prized discoveries was the library of books A.A. co-founder Dr. Bob had read, studied, recommended, and circulated. Dick first found part of them in the home of Dr. Bob's surviving daughter Sue Smith Windows in Akron. Later he found most of the balance with Dr. Bob's son Smitty and his wife in Nocona, Texas. A.A. literature reported that the books had been given away on Dr. Bob's death. But that was not the case. Once the discovery was made, Dick checked out the details with the Smith children, and located other books that Dr. Bob had used. The importance of the find was that it illuminated the real Bible-based ideas and program of early A.A. This because Dr. Bob used the books and recommended them for use in recovery. Their scope is wide: Bible, prayer, Quiet Time, Jesus Christ, healing, the mind, psychology, devotionals, Oxford Group, William James, Carl Jung, Richard Peabody, Sam Shoemaker, New Thought, and much much more. There were hundreds in all. And Dick has taken this treasure trove of books, categorized them by subject, identified which were actually owned and still extant in possession of the relatives, and listed the source of others used. Those in the recovery movement who wonder what Bill Wilson meant when he wrote in the Big Book that there were many "helpful books" and that suggestions could be obtained from one's rabbi, minister, and priest will no longer wonder why Bill also wrote: Be quick to see where religious people are right. Make use of what they have to offer. A.A. never was a cloister which banned educational, psychological, religious, medical, or inspirational literature. Quite the contrary, pioneers did make use of what they had to offer. The Akron fellowship strongly recommended the use of "outside" literature. And Bill and Bob were still making that recommendation when they spoke together on the stage of the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles in March, 1948, before an audience of 4500 AAs and their families. Here's the place to find, read, and use the books the founders used as they achieved healing.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dick B. is an author, historian, Bible student, recovered A.A., and active recovered member of the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. He has sponsored more than 100 men in their recovery and devoted 18 years of his life to unearthing and reporting the long-ignored historical treasures of A.A. history. As of March, 2008, Dick had published 32 titles on early A.A. history and had been acclaimed by many as the leading A.A. historian. He still has several works in progress and speaks widely.

Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Paradise Research Publications, Inc.; 3rd edition (May 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885803257
• ISBN-13: 978-1885803252
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,525,060 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm an active, recovered member of Alcoholics Anonymous. I use the pen name Dick B. to conform to A.A. Traditions. I am also a writer, an historian, a Christian, a Bible student, a certified CDAAC, a retired attorney, and A.A. with over 25 years of continuous sobriety. As of October, 2011, I had, for more than 21 years, been researching the roots of early A.A. in the Bible, United Christian Endeavor, the Salvation Army, the Rescue Missions, the Young Men's Christian Association, the evangelists of the 1800's, the life-changing program of the Oxford Group, the teachings of Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Quiet Time, the teachings of Anne Ripley Smith (Dr. Bob's wife), and the roles of William James, Carl Jung, Richard Peabody, New Thought writers, William D. Silkworth, Christian literature and devotionals of the day. And published 42 titles and over 675 articles on all aspects of A.A.'s spiritual history, biblical roots, and astonishing successes in the 1930's and very early 1940's. And why? Because many in the 12 Step Fellowships tire of hearing about a 'higher power' that can be a tree, a radiator, a lightbulb, the group, or Gertrude. And they tire of seeing Biblical expressions in A.A.'s basic text and early literature and yet hearing today's literature stating that A.A. is 'spiritual, but not religious' when outsiders and the courts readily see its religious character and many therefore believe they should be able to learn A.A. Christian roots. And they tire of the fatalism that abounds in recovery writings and talk today. So I decided to find out where A.A. came from, and then pass on to the 100 plus men I have sponsored, the truth about A.A.'s roots. Currently and still today, one history after another appears in print and purports to talk about A.A.'s beginnings. Yet there is little or no mention of the Bible, of God, of Jesus Christ, of Divine healing, of redemptive forgiveness, or of deliverance from the power of darkness. Nonetheless, these unmentioned or little mentioned Christian elements were relied upon by early AAs for their astonishing recoveries. The fact is that they declared they were cured by the power of God and had a documented 75 to 93% success rate among seemingly hopeless, medically incurable, alcoholics who gave the program their best shot. So each of my 42 published titles and innumerable articles cover some aspect, and often more than one, of A.A.'s seven major Biblical and basic roots: (1) The Bible. (2) Quiet Time and the daily devotionals. (3) The teachings of Rev. Sam Shoemaker, Jr. (4) The life-changing program of the Oxford Group. (5) The details in the spiritual journal kept by Anne Ripley Smith (co-founder DR. Bob's wife) and shared with the pioneers and their families, but unmentioned today. (6) The extensive Christian literature ranging from St. Augustine to Brother Lawrence to Henry Drummond to John Mott to Harry Emerson Fosdick to Glenn Clark to Oswald Chambers, and a host of others. (7) One of the most recent finds has been the roots of Akron A.A. in the United Christian Endeavor Society. If one wants to understand the role, power, and love of God our Creator in A.A. today, that person will not accomplish much in the meetings, nor even in the "something" or "somebody" definitions that are pumped out today as a "power" to seek. Nonetheless, they can find accurate facts in my thoroughly researched and documented work of the past 21 years. For A.A. history abounds with truths from the Bible: how to come to God through His son Jesus Christ, how to be healed, how to comport yourself in accordance with Christian principles, how to pray, and how to receive guidance as one of God's kids. It's all there; and I welcome your comments and the many I receive each day. There's still plenty to learn and pass on. God Bless, Dick B. PS: Many of our latest findings are in The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., 2010 www.dickb.com/Christian-Recov-Guide.shtml. Many are frequently posted on my blog www.mauihistorian.blogspot.com, as well as my facebook and twitter entries

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The first of three foundational history works on early A.A. in Akron, December 1, 2006

By 

John Albert Hill Jr. "Bible student in recovery" (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dr. Bob and His Library: A Major A.A. Spiritual Source (Paperback)

At the very beginning of his 17 years of research into the spiritual history and roots of Alcoholics Anonymous, Dick B. turned his attention to Akron. Why? Because A.A.'s own conference approved DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers opened the door to a good deal of history practically unknown in A.A. meetings and groups; and it erred in listing the books that Dr. Bob read and circulated indicating wrongly that they had been given away. The A.A. book also told little or nothing about Anne Smith's morning quiet times at the Smith home and nothing of the journal that she kept from 1933 to 1939 and used to teach Bill and Bob and also stimilate discussion at quiet times. Finally, the real Akron beginnings with Sam Shoemaker, Russell Firestone's miraculous cure from alcoholism, the roots of the Akron fellowship in United Christian Endeavor Society, and the real program itself as outlined by Frank Amos were not presented in full. Dick's first book and first edition of Dr. Bob's Library was written after Dick discovered from Dr. Bob's children, Sue Smith Windows and Robert R. Smith, that not only was Dr. Bob's Library still around, but that half of it was in Sue's attic in Akron and the other half was in Smitty's home in Nocona, Texas. Dick inspected them all, probably the first to see the whole group and study the individual items because each of the two children provided him with handwritten lists of the books so that he could track down the books and comment upon them. Dr. Bob's were of particular interest because they individually and in groups showed the various vital areas of interest to the pioneer AAs among whom they were circulated. Thus they covered alcoholism, Bible study, prayer, healing, love, the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, studies of important Bible segments like the Sermon on the Mount and 1 Corinthians 13, the commentaries on these segments, the life-changing books (like those of Harold Begbie, Sam Shoemaker, and A.J. Russell), a Christian classic or two (like St. Augustine and Thomas a Kempis), many works by the top Christian writers of the day (such as Glenn Clark, Charles Sheldon, E. Stanley Jones, Oswald Chambers, Toyohiko Kagawa, the Unity leaders, Harry Emerson Fosdick, Norman Vincent Peale, Fulton Sheen, Emmet Fox, and many others), the writing of William James and Carl Jung, some of the Oxford Group literature, some of the Sam Shoemaker literature, and the devotionals like The Runner's Bible, The Upper Room, My Utmost for His Highest, and The Meaning of Prayer which were in daily use in Akron and, to a very limited degree, in New York. If you are going to learn and paint a picture of the real early A.A. and the Biblical origins of most of the principles practices it utilized, you need to see the scope of Dr. Bob's books, know that they were loaned out, know that they were background for the studies and meetings in the homes, and realize they covered all the rudiments of early A.A.'s Christian Fellowship and recovery program--abstinence, resisting temptation, acceptance of Christ, reliance on the Creator, elimination of sinful conduct, growth in fellowship with God and His son and other believers (through Bible studies, prayer meetings, morning devotions, seeking God's guidance, reading helpful literature, and engaging in religious and social comradeship and, if desired, attendance at church). The trio of Dick's earliest books--Dr. Bob's Library, Anne Smith's Journal, The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous--show you an A.A. with a high success rate, an A.A. that relied on God, and A.A. in which members were cured, and a very simple program whose basic ideas were taken from the Bible. If you take this important first reading and then look at what has been discovered, you see the meat, the bones, and the flavor of early A.A.'s simple program before there were any steps and before there was any basic text. You can also obtain and study the Akron AA pamphlets (4 in all that Dr. Bob caused to be published some 10 or 12 years later) that pointed to all the subjects, roots, principles, and standards that were so much a part of the Akron plan. This Dr. Bob book is a winner. It's content has never been even closely approximated in writings. It should be first on your march through history. And it will give you a perspective of words, phrases, language, and ideas that developed in early A.A. from 1935 through 1944.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The first Dick B. discovery that turned us all back to the Bible, to early A.A., and to reading, April 16, 2008

By 

Daxton Lyon (Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dr. Bob and His Library: A Major A.A. Spiritual Source (Paperback)

Possibly Dick B. should never have used words like "library," "journal," "history," and "books" in his titles. It's too easy to miss their real purpose, pass the books along, and consider them records of the past--a past that's no longer relevant. But Dick B. is an honest historian who likes accurately to describe his subject matter. On the other hand, his passion is to serve the LORD; tell people about God's word, son, and power; and urge them to recover and be cured today just as the early AAs were and just as Dick has done. What about the books owned by Dr. Bob? What do they show? The answer is that their very scope indicates why early AAs had a documented 75% to 93% success rate among seemingly hopeless medically incurable real drunks who went to any length to be cured by the power of God. When Dick discovered Dr. Bob's library in the attic of Dr. Bob's daughter and then later discovered another large portion in the home of Dr. Bob's son, he was ecstatic. And Dr. Bob's kids were equally enthusiastic. At last, people could learn for themselves just how much Dr. Bob had studied and circulated books about the Bible, God, Jesus Christ, Love, life-changing, healing, prayer, quiet time, seeking God's guidance, devotionals, alcoholism and cure, and so on. To know Dr. Bob's library is to know just how solid the early A.A. pioneers were in their belief that their Creator, the accomplishments of Jesus Christ, the truth of the Bible, their prayer life, their studies, and their efforts to help others could back up what they heard repeatedly from Dr. Bob: Your Heavenly Father will never let you down! Here is a nifty compilation of Dr. Bob's entire library, so far as is known today. It's a library that is not located in one place. The daughter sold her portion to Brown University. The son donated his portion to Dr. Bob's Home. And there are others retained by these folk and others. But you can do what Dick did. Once he learned what the books were, he went to the libraries and the bookstores and the internet and studied them. He had verified the originals, but he didn't need to own them. He just needed to study and learn their contents in order to live the abundant life and help others-to salvation and to the truth. Perhaps that appeals to you. It did appeal to me. It's a treasure.

5.0 out of 5 stars The importance of the books A.A. Co-founder Dr. Bob read and circulated, October 19, 2011

By 

Dick B. "Dick B." (Kihei, HI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dr. Bob and His Library: A Major A.A. Spiritual Source (Paperback)

From time to time, this important book has been on sale at Dr. Bob's Home in Akron. Its importance was amplified by three events: (1) Dr. Bob's son, Robert R. Smith, donated his approximately one-half of his father's books to Dr. Bob's Home where they still remain. (2) The other half were sold to Brown University by Dr. Bob's daughter at a time when she was in ill health and needed the money. (3) As things now stand, the ability of an A.A. Historian, A.A. member, A.A. researcher, and A.A. speaker to get his or her hands around the content of Dr. Bob's books is highly limited. But Dr. Bob and His Library helps fill the gap. One can see what Dr. Bob read and recommended. One can look at the relevance of the book, and one can find the bibliographic citations that lead to obtaining one of these books today.

Dr. Bob and His Library: A Major A.A. Spiritual Source

That is why this third edition of Dr. Bob and His Library is so important today to the recovery field. When my son and I interviewed Grace Snyder (wife of A.A. oldtimer Clarence H. Snyder), she was asked at length about the books that Dr. Bob had in his library.

The first thing we discovered is that Clarence had a good many of these books in his own library of A.A. books; and Clarence got sober in February of 1938, was one of Dr. Bob's most active sponsees, and founded Cleveland A.A. where Clarence continued to use the Bible, the Oxford Group materials, the Big Book and the Twelve Steps--with the result that Cleveland's success rates were of the best--a 93% success rate. And Cleveland A.A. grew far faster than any group in the early days of A.A. See DR. BOB and the Good OldtimersDr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers. See also the information that Grace Snyder conveyed to us in her interview.That Amazing Grace: The Role of Clarence and Grace S. in Alcoholics Anonymous.

The next thing we discovered is that Dr. Bob felt these religious books were an important part of the Akron Christian Fellowship's recovery program. The Bible, of course, came first; and reading of the Bible was stressed in early A.A.The Good Book and the Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible (Bridge Builders Edition) But then came the topics covered in the books Dr. Bob owned. The Bible, Jesus Christ, Prayer, Quiet Time, the Oxford Group, Soul-Surgery (the book that laid out the five C's that became the heart of the Steps), healing, The Runner's Bible--which was a key "meditation" book used during Quiet Time by early AAs, and books on the psychological aspects of recovery from alcoholism.

Dr. Bob owned these books, and we have seen most of them at Sue Windows' home, at Smitty's home in Texas, and at Dr. Bob's Home in Akron. Many of the books have an inscription by Dr. Bob in his own hand. They have his name, his address in Akron, a date, and the comment: "Please return."

The pieces came together when Grace Snyder said that when Dr. Bob circulated one of his books, he put the name of the book and the borrower in writing. When the borrower returned the book, Dr. Bob quizzed the person about the contents of the book. And, of course, Dr. Bob said that most of the oldtimers believed the answes to their problems were in the Good Book. Hence every book had its special role in that it explained some aspect of the Bible, the life of Jesus, Christian healings, prayer, Quiet Time, life-changing, and other viewpoints such as those of Richard Peabody and some New Thought writers. The Runner's Bible itself was a guide to Christian living--covering the nature of God and Jesus Christ, God's desire to heal, God's forgiveness, God's guidance, God's love. and God's power. A large number of correlative Bible verses were included and quoted on these subjectgs.The runner's Bible

Even in his later Big Book, Bill Wilson wrote in connection with Step Eleven that there were many helpful books. He suggested asking one's rabbi, minister, or priest for recommendations. And he added: Be quick to see where religious people are right. Make use of what they have to offer.

In other words, neither Bill nor Bob pretended to know even a small part of all the facets of Christian recovery. And therefore the books they recommended and the sources of referral are part and parcel of real Christian "old school A.A." recovery today.