'Big Book' Passes 20 Million Mark
Dateline: 6/28/2000 It's never been on the New York Times Best Seller list. It�019s never been reviewed by the prestigious publications that are credited with the discovery of literary genius, there is no plan for a sequel and Hollywood Studios are not vying for the rights to turn it into a film. Yet the 'Big Book' of Alcoholics Anonymous has recently passed the 20 million sales mark, making it one of the top nonfiction best-sellers of all time.
It didn't seem like that would be the case in 1939. The new book Alcoholics Anonymous was featured on a popular radio show by radio commentator Gabriel Heatter, and three days later, A.A. founders lugged empty suitcases to their post office box in anticipation of a deluge of orders -- only to find two lone inquiries.
It took 36 years to sell the first million copies. Now A.A. distributes approximately one million books every year in the English-language edition alone. At last tally, the 575-page volume has been published in 40 other languages including: Afrikaans, Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese. The most recent addition is the Punjabi language. A number of other translations are nearing completion.
Often called A.A.�019s "most effective sponsor," the Big Book was launched on a shoestring. Initially sales lagged, and the young Fellowship found itself saddled with nearly 5,000 unsold books and large incidental debts. Then, in March 1941, after an article about A.A. by Jack Alexander appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, sales soared and a second printing was ordered at once.
The book provided the name for a small movement that until then had been known simply as the Alcoholic Foundation, with but 100 members. Today Alcoholics Anonymous has an estimated two million members in 150 countries. Additionally, its program of recovery serves as a model for many 12 Step organizations.
Revealing Insight
The Big Book itself has opened the way to a life of comfortable sobriety for thousands of suffering alcoholics who otherwise might not have found help. It has offered convincing evidence to relatives and friends that compulsive drinkers can recover; and has furnished revealing insights to physicians, psychologists, members of the clergy and other professionals who work with alcoholics.It is common knowledge that the initial draft of the Big Book was written by late A.A. co-founder Bill W. when he was not quite four years sober. But he did not complete it alone. Alcoholics Anonymous was a collective creation, since each chapter was "edited" by A.A. members in Akron, Ohio and New York City--all of them sober less time than Bill. This cooperative effort, reflecting the shared experience and consensus of the small Fellowship as a whole, set in motion the democratic process of decision-making that characterizes A.A. today.
Three editions of the Big Book have been issued over the years. The basic text, contained in the first 11 chapters, has remained the same. The section of personal recovery stories, contained in the second portion of the book, has been expanded to represent changing patterns in A.A�019s membership.
The hardcover edition costs $6.00, just $2.50 more than it sold for more than 60 years ago. An unabridged, softcover "portable" Big Book is also available, along with editions in large print, in Braille, audiotape cassettes, 3�� diskette, and in American Sign Language. Never advertised or promoted, the Big Book is generally available in bookstores. Copies may also be obtained, however, by writing to: A.A. World Services, Inc., Box 459, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163.
Source: AAWS News Release.
