What we read, and when each source was written
Every answer in this section comes from these A.A. publications, read in full. The date that matters is when a text was first written: the Big Book's program (pages 1–164) is the 1939 text, left "largely untouched" since (Preface, p. xi), while the personal stories and appendices changed with each edition. Later sources are used with care and always dated, and the earliest text leads. Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (1953) is not used as a source.
All quotations are brief and cited; the books are © A.A. World Services, Inc., and the Grapevine pieces © AA Grapevine, Inc. Most of the Big Book is free to read on aa.org, and the books are sold at onlineliterature.aa.org.
| Source | Written / first published | Before Dr. Bob died (Nov 1950)? |
|---|---|---|
| Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 1–164 | 1939 (this copy is the 4th edition, 2001; stories and appendices vary by edition) | yes |
| The Traditions, Long Form ("Twelve Points to Assure Our Future") | Grapevine, 1946; short form by 1950 (P-43 p. 1 says so) | yes |
| P-17 The Twelve Traditions | Bill W.'s Grapevine essays: "Who Is a Member" (1946), "Money" (1946), "Anonymity" (1946), "Clubs in A.A." (1947), "Dangers in Linking A.A. to Other Projects" (1947), "Will A.A. Ever Have a Personal Government?" (1947); foreword and "Why Alcoholics Anonymous Is Anonymous" 1955; pamphlet © 2019, articles © AA Grapevine | the 1946–47 essays, yes |
| Appendix I in the Big Book | 2nd edition, 1955 (text from 1946) | text yes, placement no |
| P-44 A.A. Legacy of Service | Bill W., around the 1955 St. Louis convention | no |
| A.A. Comes of Age | 1957 | no (Derick accepts it, 10-03) |
| Twelve Concepts (Service Manual; Appendix VII; P-8) | Concepts 1962; P-8 © 2017; Service Manual 2024–2026 edition | no |
| P-43 Twelve Traditions Illustrated | © 1971 | no |
| P-16 The A.A. Group | © 2018 (quotes Bill, 1955) | no |
| P-53 The Co-Founders | © 2017 (contents earlier, dates to check) | no |
| Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers | 1980 | no |
| Pass It On | 1984 | no |
| Experience, Strength and Hope | 2003 (stories from the 1st–3rd editions) | stories from 1939 partly |
These pages answer questions about A.A. from A.A.'s own published literature, read in full, with every quote checked word for word against the page it cites. Recovery Starts is independent and not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous. What we read, and when each source was written.