Jim Burwell: The Early History of Alcoholics Anonymous (Unabridged‪)‬

Jim Burwell: The Early History of Alcoholics Anonymous

One of the first longtime sober members of AA talks about the people, events, and development of ideas and practices that created AA:



Ebby, Bill Wilson, and the Oxford Group
Hank Parkhurst, Ruth Hock, and the writing of the Big Book
How AA got the name Alcoholics Anonymous
Jack Alexander and the Saturday Evening Post article
The 12 Traditions
The circumstances that led up to AA self-governance by the General Service Conference 


Jim Burwell, a very early AA member and author of The Vicious Cycle Big Book Story, got sober on June 15, 1938. He started the first AA group in Philadelphia and afterwards, lived in San Diego until his death on September 8, 1974. He died sober and participated in AA throughout the years of his sobriety.