The vast majority of alcoholics that attend present day meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous have little more than a nodding acquaintance with the rich and colorful tradition that is AA. From our co-founders early ties to the Rockefeller Foundation to the White House ceremony where the One Millionth Big Book was presented to then president Richard M. Nixon, Alcoholics Anonymous has a past unlike any other organization. My hope is that you enjoy the information posted on this page and come away with a deeper appreciation of the enormity of the greatest miracle of modern times - Alcoholics Anonymous.

Included below, you will find links to an abundance of written correspondence generated when AA was very much in it's adolescence.  AA, recognized as the most significant miracle in the 20th century has a past unlike any organization.  Membership in this organization has come at a high cost to most members.  A cost not measured purely in dollars, but a cost measured in lost lives, lost loved ones, lost hopes, and lost dreams.  

The magnificent reality that is current day AA is a restorer of lost lives, a generator of life, and as Bill W. so eloquently said,  

 
" AA is much more in reality than a generator of mere sobriety, it is returning us to citizenship of the world."  

Our hope is that you enjoy this walk though AA History. 

• What the Church has to learn from AA, Sam Shoemaker -- c. 1955.
• BILL WILSON U.S. SENATE TESTIMONY, 1969 
• Bill W's Pearl Harbor Statement
• People in AA History
• Timeline of Events Related to AA
• Alcoholics Anonymous in Bristol and the West of England
• Readers Digest Article, January 1946, pp. 31-34
• Book Reviews Of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous
• Chronology of Dr. Bob's Life
• Meaning of the AA Symbol- Circle/Triangle
• Boston Globe Article About AA, 1990
• Big Book Marketing Proposal 1938
• Early Manuscript of the Big Book
• Book Review, 4th Edition Big Book by Florida Catholic Newspaper
• Early AA History- Information By Dick B.
• Akron A.A. Pioneers- Information By Dick B.
• The Oxford Group and AA- Information by Dick B.
• Anne Ripley Smith, wife of Dr. Bob, Mother and Co-Founder of A.A.- Information by Dick B.
• Proposed Dust Jacket for the Original Big Book
• Dr. Bob's Prescription Pad
• The Wilson-Jung Letters, 1961
• TIME Magazine Article, July 11, 1960
• 1945 Minneapolis Sobriety Percentage Records
• Saturday Evening Post Cover- 1941
• Saturday Evening Post Article by Jack Alexander- 1941
• A Talk by Dr. Bob, December 1948
• Cleveland Central Bulletin November 1942
• Vintage ORIGINAL Massachusetts Newsletters- 1970's
• How the Big Book Was Put Together- Bill W.
• Family Circle Article, January 1945
• The Cleveland Controversy 1944
• Gabriel Heatter radio broadcast of April 25, 1939
• Time Magazine Article about Bill Wilson
• The Silkworth Papers
• Saturday Evening Post Article May 1960
• Ebby Thatcher's Eulogy, by Bill W.
• The Nixon Letters
• AA Membership Estimate, 1940
• From THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY, February 22, 1950
• "Why We Were Chosen"
• Dr. Silkworth on "Slips"
• Bill Wilson's 1947 Guideposts Article
• National Committee on Alcoholism Annual Meeting  March 30, 1956
• Early 1940's Philadelphia "Intro To AA" Pamphlet
• The Irish Ecclesiastical  Record, March 1950 re: AA
• The Catholic Contribution to the 12-Step Movement
• Philadelphia's 1st AA Newspaper Article 1940
• Bill W. & Dr. Bob on Vinyl Records
• Catholic Asceticism and the Twelve Steps-Reverend Edward Dowling
• AA and The Oxford Group
• Grapevine 1955 Article about Chips
• Catholic Digest AA Article, 1991
• AMERICA Article, November 9, 1957
• The Saturday Evening Post Article, July/ August 1985
• Cybriety September 11th Statement
• January 2002, Boston Globe Article about the Big Book
• Dr. Bob's Daughter, Sue Smith Windows Obituary
• Lois Wilson's 1944 Grapevine Article
• 2002 Founders Day Article, Cleveland Plain Dealer
• July 1945 Grapevine Sponsorship Article

The Wilson- Burwell Letters
For almost 20 years, Bill Wilson and Jim Burwell (Big Book author 2nd and 3rd edition "Vicious Cycle" ) communicated via written correspondence. Here, in part are the Wilson-Burwell Letters.

• Letter from Bill Wilson to Jim Burwell, December 11, 1947
• Letter from Jim Burwell to Bill Wilson, January 16, 1948
• Letter from Bill Wilson to the Burwell's, December 15, 1950
• Letter from Bill Wilson to Burwell's, August 31, 1951
• Letter from Bill Wilson to the Burwell's, November 24, 1953
• Letter from Jim Burwell to Bill Wilson, January 27, 1957
• Letter from Bill Wilson to the Burwell's, March 20, 1957
• Letter from Bill Wilson to the Burwell's, April 3, 1958
• Letter from Bill Wilson to Jim Burwell, July 1, 1958
• Letter from Bill Wilson to Burwell's, May 24, 1960
• Letter from Bill Wilson to the Burwell's, August 8, 1960
• Letter from Bill Wilson to the Burwell's, August 2, 1961
• Letter from Bill Wilson to Jim Burwell, November 14, 1961
• Letter from Bill Wilson to the Burwell's, August 29, 1962
• Letter from Jim Burwell to Bill Wilson, May 15, 1965

We are always looking for items to post here. If you have a suggestion, we'd love to hear from you! 
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No matter our circumstances today, let's thank God for what we have.
                      ~Anonymous