[.uk] Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of ... (ISBN 0916856003)

a way of life that works:
this book gave me a working relationship with power grater than myself ,that deepens day bye day. I owe my life to this book.

62 Years of Proven Effectiveness:
While AA may not be the answer for everyone, it is for many thousands of alcoholics and others. 12-Step programs are popular in many places now, based on the Steps to recovery first written in this book. Alcoholics Anonymous has never been on any best seller list, but it has sold over 20 million copies. This is good reason to take seriously what the authors say in this book. I can add my personal testimonial: the 12 Steps have changed my life for the better. Given the choice between potential death or 12 Steps, I will take the Steps!

A manic stockbroker invents his own religion:
Popular? Yes! A good guide to life? Well I don't know about that.... Rating this book is like rating the Holy Bible. Unfortunately, that's how it is regarded by many in this day & age. I am a recovered alcoholic who found solace in learning to trust my gut, instead of trusting a book written by a stockbroker with only 3 years sober. I did go to AA and one of the first things I heard was "It takes two years to get your brain out of hock, and 3 more to unscramble them". How many years sober did Mr. Wilson have again when he penned this text? Gee... by his own definion, he was rather foggy brained when he wrote his own religion. Hmmmmm..... I can't argue that many people adore this book, people are generally lazy, and enjoy having a "life" handed to them on a platter. So be it.

TO BE READ AGAIN & AGAIN:
a great book. each time i read it i gain many new insights. the stories at the end of the book reached me 1st. years later i began a serious "working of the steps". through that serious work i did undergo a "profound personality change" which has served me quite well. if a person can accept the sometimes old-fashioned language there is really a lot here that can be profoundly helpful. AA is not the only answer for the alocoholic but it has worked for millions so should at least be taken seriously. In my experience many things heard in an AA meeting do not reflect the premises in this book. So a person has to be smart. read the book, listen at meetings(if you go) but think, read & contemplate. After 20 years of sobriety i return to this book over & over. Not only for a deep comfort but for inspiration & guidance. one last thought: i don't take myself or "everything" so seriously, but i do take my sobriety seriously. good luck - it is a life "second to none".

AA isn't for everyone:
AA isn't for everyone, only those who can't stop by themselves, it's pretty simple. And as you can see from some previous reviewers, "SOME ARE SICKER THAN OTHERS". Only the most closed and narrow minded won't be able to make it work. All it takes is a little willingness and honesty. Everyone dies someday and in one aspect, an alcoholic has 3 choices. Die Drunk, Die drunk and having failed at AA, Die sober. Just beyond me though at how some people can be so hateful of those striving for the third option or the "cult" that brings it all together.