The Birth of Recovery: Exploring the First Edition of the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book presented by Mike F

Here you can watch this special presentation about the Alcoholics Anonymous First Edition Big Books!

Mike F. outlines the history of the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book. From 1939 -1954, 16 printings featuring 21 variations of the AA big book were created. This video explains that history.

Books included in this collection include the 1st Printing featuring the Red Cloth Cover with an Original Dust Jacket, the 2nd Printing featuring the Red Cloth Cover which only a handful are known to still exist, the 3rd Printing with the Green Cover, and the 7th Printing with an Original Dust Jacket which only 3 copies are known to still exist.

Bill Wilson and Hank Parkhurst, the two men that spearheaded the book project, wanted to sell the book for $3.50 per copy. That was a very large sum in those days, the equivalent of around $50 today, and people might not think they were getting their money’s worth. They picked the cheapest, thickest paper the printer had, and requested that each page be printed with large margins surrounding the text. This made for an unusually large book. Thus, the book came to be nicknamed the “Big Book.” The First Printing is bigger and thicker than the current Fourth Editions. With AA having very little money in 1939 and the early 1940’s, they picked the cheapest materials they could use for printing the book which contributed to the various colors of first editions.