AA Big Book

The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous was written by alcoholics for alcoholics. It was the story of how more than one hundred men and women have recovered from alcoholism. There have been three revisions to the book since the publication of the first printing in 1939. The first printing of Alcoholics Anonymous was published in April 1939 by the Works Publishing Company. There were sixteen printings of the first edition Alcoholics Anonymous book. More than 300,000 of these first edition books went into circulation in the following sixteen years. The second edition began publication in 1955 and followed with sixteen more printings that reached an estimated circulation of well over a million copies. There were seventy four printings of the third edition that started publishing in 1976. In 2001, the fourth edition of Alcoholics Anonymous began publication. To preserve the "original" message of the AA founders, there have been no changes to the first 164 pages in any of the four editions of Alcoholics Anonymous, often referred to by it's members as the "Big Book." The major changes in the different editions of the Big Book were in the personal stories. As stories were added to each new edition of Alcoholics Anonymous, there was the difficult task of removing stories. These revisions made in the different editions of the Big Book were intended to update the story section, representing current membership, and show the potential "newcomer" who has been helped by Alcoholics Anonymous. These personal stories reflect the experience, strength, and hope of alcoholics that have learned a new way of life and how to live!