The Roots of Alcoholics Anonymous [Paperback]

Bill Pittman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 26, 1994

The never before told story of the forces that inspired the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The Roots of Alcoholics Anonymous is a fascinating history of treatment for alcoholism that traces society's shifting sentiments towards recovery. Author Bill Pittman uncovers a wealth of new and fascinating information about the people, movements and organizations behind Alcoholics Anonymous.

Pittman has dug deeply into the early history of AA. He has used recent scholarship on the subject well and done a mountain of new research. The entire Alcohol Studies field should find this book highly interesting.
Penny Booth Page, Rutgers Center for Alcohol Studies

"A challenging and thought provoking book."
Ernest Kurtz, Ph.D., author of Not God: A History of AA

"I like Bill Pittman's factual approach to the years leading up to the birth of AA."
Ruth Hock Crecellius, Bill Wilson's first secretary

"An honest, accurate and readable history of AA."
Bob Morris, Minneapolis, Minnesota

"Complete and informative--a valuable book for anyone in the alcohol studies field."
Curtis M., New York City

"Pittman has written a comprehensive and insightful history of the evolution of AA."
Peter L., Waltham, Massachusetts

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bill holds advanced degrees in applied sociology and archival methods. Having worked in this field for over twenty years, he has also authored 15 books on the history of AA and 12-step recovery. He worked at the headquarters of Alcoholics Anonymous for five years. Bill's primary interest is the founding period of AA and the writing of their text in 1939.

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: Hazelden (January 26, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568385056
• ISBN-13: 978-1568385051
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,328,715 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars More Significant Roots Than Presented Here, December 6, 2008

By 

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

This review is from: The Roots of Alcoholics Anonymous (Paperback)

He or she who attempts to define the roots of Alcoholics Anonymous should never fall into the short-cut trap that has caused these writers and a number of historians to focus on the Oxford Group, rather than upon the various roots and also the specific roots that Bill Wilson himself described. First, one must distinguish between the original Akron Christian Fellowship program described in The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics AnonymousThe Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous; Then the many elements in the "rest of the story: found in Real Twelver Step History Real Twelve Step Fellowship History; The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the BibleUtilizing Early A.A.'s Spiritual Roots for Recovery Today (Why It Worked: A.A. History Series, Vol. 1)The Oxford Group & Alcoholics Anonymous: A Design for Living that Works; and certainly the revealing personal journal kept by Dr. Bob's wife Anne and shared with early AAs and their families each morning Anne Smith's Journal, 1933-1939: A.A.'s Principles of Success. And, of course the materials on Quiet Time--which was a must in early A.A.Good Morning!: Quiet Time, Morning Watch, Meditation, and Early A.A.
Half a loaf is not better than the entire loaf (the full picture). This title is satisfactory to those who simply want to know Pittman's view of the Steps. But the principles of the Twelve Steps, of the Original A.A. program, and the first edition of the Big Book involve much much more--starting in fact with the conversion of A.A. co-founder Bill Wilson--the event which furnished "The Solution" for which he believed desperate alcoholics had been searching. The Conversion of Bill W.