Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism, New and Revised Edition. by [Wilson, Bill] - 1955

New York: Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing, Inc., 1955 Second edition, first printing with "realy" to pp. XX. Publisher's blue cloth, stamped in blind to front board and in gilt to spine; in the original blue dust jacket, lettered in white, verso printed solid dark blue. A near fine copy with some light toning to extremities; in a very good unclipped dust jacket with some rubbing to extremities and minor chipping to spine ends, short closed tear to bottom edge of front panel, otherwise bright and clean. Overall, a lovely copy of the scarce second edition of this important book. Alcoholics Anonymous, colloquially known as "the Big Book," is the foundational text of the Alcoholics Anonymous rehabilitation program, written by one of its founding members and first published in 1939. Its core focus is the seminal twelve-step program that continues to be used as a model for treating addiction today. This second edition was published 16 years after the first, during which time the program grew from about 100 members to over 150,000. Though the basic text remains largely unaltered from the first edition, a few essential revisions reflect the organization's development, including the Story Section, to which was added 37 new stories of members' personal experiences, and the wording of the title, in which "Hundreds" became "Many Thousands". Notably, the opposite side of the dust jacket is printed in solid dark blue; and the rear flap states: "If you wish to preserve complete personal anonymity while carrying this book, just turn this jacket inside out. It has been especially designed for your convenience.". Hard Cover. Near Fine/Dust Jacket Included.