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5 of 6 found the following review helpful:
The first of three foundational history works on early A.A. in Akron Dec 01, 2006
By John Albert Hill Jr.
"Bible student in recovery"
At the very beginning of his 17 years of research into the spiritual history and roots of Alcoholics Anonymous, Dick B. turned his attention to Akron. Why? Because A.A.'s own conference approved DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers opened the door to a good deal of history practically unknown in A.A. meetings and groups; and it erred in listing the books that Dr. Bob read and circulated indicating wrongly that they had been given away. The A.A. book also told little or nothing about Anne Smith's morning quiet times at the Smith home and nothing of the journal that she kept from 1933 to 1939 and used to teach Bill and Bob and also stimilate discussion at quiet times. Finally, the real Akron beginnings with Sam Shoemaker, Russell Firestone's miraculous cure from alcoholism, the roots of the Akron fellowship in United Christian Endeavor Society, and the real program itself as outlined by Frank Amos were not presented in full. Dick's first book and first edition of Dr. Bob's Library was written after Dick discovered from Dr. Bob's children, Sue Smith Windows and Robert R. Smith, that not only was Dr. Bob's Library still around, but that half of it was in Sue's attic in Akron and the other half was in Smitty's home in Nocona, Texas. Dick inspected them all, probably the first to see the whole group and study the individual items because each of the two children provided him with handwritten lists of the books so that he could track down the books and comment upon them. Dr. Bob's were of particular interest because they individually and in groups showed the various vital areas of interest to the pioneer AAs among whom they were circulated. Thus they covered alcoholism, Bible study, prayer, healing, love, the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, studies of important Bible segments like the Sermon on the Mount and 1 Corinthians 13, the commentaries on these segments, the life-changing books (like those of Harold Begbie, Sam Shoemaker, and A.J. Russell), a Christian classic or two (like St. Augustine and Thomas a Kempis), many works by the top Christian writers of the day (such as Glenn Clark, Charles Sheldon, E. Stanley Jones, Oswald Chambers, Toyohiko Kagawa, the Unity leaders, Harry Emerson Fosdick, Norman Vincent Peale, Fulton Sheen, Emmet Fox, and many others), the writing of William James and Carl Jung, some of the Oxford Group literature, some of the Sam Shoemaker literature, and the devotionals like The Runner's Bible, The Upper Room, My Utmost for His Highest, and The Meaning of Prayer which were in daily use in Akron and, to a very limited degree, in New York. If you are going to learn and paint a picture of the real early A.A. and the Biblical origins of most of the principles practices it utilized, you need to see the scope of Dr. Bob's books, know that they were loaned out, know that they were background for the studies and meetings in the homes, and realize they covered all the rudiments of early A.A.'s Christian Fellowship and recovery program--abstinence, resisting temptation, acceptance of Christ, reliance on the Creator, elimination of sinful conduct, growth in fellowship with God and His son and other believers (through Bible studies, prayer meetings, morning devotions, seeking God's guidance, reading helpful literature, and engaging in religious and social comradeship and, if desired, attendance at church). The trio of Dick's earliest books--Dr. Bob's Library, Anne Smith's Journal, The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous--show you an A.A. with a high success rate, an A.A. that relied on God, and A.A. in which members were cured, and a very simple program whose basic ideas were taken from the Bible. If you take this important first reading and then look at what has been discovered, you see the meat, the bones, and the flavor of early A.A.'s simple program before there were any steps and before there was any basic text. You can also obtain and study the Akron AA pamphlets (4 in all that Dr. Bob caused to be published some 10 or 12 years later) that pointed to all the subjects, roots, principles, and standards that were so much a part of the Akron plan. This Dr. Bob book is a winner. It's content has never been even closely approximated in writings. It should be first on your march through history. And it will give you a perspective of words, phrases, language, and ideas that developed in early A.A. from 1935 through 1944.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
The first Dick B. discovery that turned us all back to the Bible, to early A.A., and to reading Apr 17, 2008
By Daxton Lyon
Possibly Dick B. should never have used words like "library," "journal," "history," and "books" in his titles. It's too easy to miss their real purpose, pass the books along, and consider them records of the past--a past that's no longer relevant. But Dick B. is an honest historian who likes accurately to describe his subject matter. On the other hand, his passion is to serve the LORD; tell people about God's word, son, and power; and urge them to recover and be cured today just as the early AAs were and just as Dick has done. What about the books owned by Dr. Bob? What do they show? The answer is that their very scope indicates why early AAs had a documented 75% to 93% success rate among seemingly hopeless medically incurable real drunks who went to any length to be cured by the power of God. When Dick discovered Dr. Bob's library in the attic of Dr. Bob's daughter and then later discovered another large portion in the home of Dr. Bob's son, he was ecstatic. And Dr. Bob's kids were equally enthusiastic. At last, people could learn for themselves just how much Dr. Bob had studied and circulated books about the Bible, God, Jesus Christ, Love, life-changing, healing, prayer, quiet time, seeking God's guidance, devotionals, alcoholism and cure, and so on. To know Dr. Bob's library is to know just how solid the early A.A. pioneers were in their belief that their Creator, the accomplishments of Jesus Christ, the truth of the Bible, their prayer life, their studies, and their efforts to help others could back up what they heard repeatedly from Dr. Bob: Your Heavenly Father will never let you down! Here is a nifty compilation of Dr. Bob's entire library, so far as is known today. It's a library that is not located in one place. The daughter sold her portion to Brown University. The son donated his portion to Dr. Bob's Home. And there are others retained by these folk and others. But you can do what Dick did. Once he learned what the books were, he went to the libraries and the bookstores and the internet and studied them. He had verified the originals, but he didn't need to own them. He just needed to study and learn their contents in order to live the abundant life and help others-to salvation and to the truth. Perhaps that appeals to you. It did appeal to me. It's a treasure.
The importance of the books A.A. Co-founder Dr. Bob read and circulated Oct 19, 2011
By Dick B.
"Dick B."
From time to time, this important book has been on sale at Dr. Bob's Home in Akron. Its importance was amplified by three events: (1) Dr. Bob's son, Robert R. Smith, donated his approximately one-half of his father's books to Dr. Bob's Home where they still remain. (2) The other half were sold to Brown University by Dr. Bob's daughter at a time when she was in ill health and needed the money. (3) As things now stand, the ability of an A.A. Historian, A.A. member, A.A. researcher, and A.A. speaker to get his or her hands around the content of Dr. Bob's books is highly limited. But Dr. Bob and His Library helps fill the gap. One can see what Dr. Bob read and recommended. One can look at the relevance of the book, and one can find the bibliographic citations that lead to obtaining one of these books today.
Dr. Bob and His Library: A Major A.A. Spiritual Source
That is why this third edition of Dr. Bob and His Library is so important today to the recovery field. When my son and I interviewed Grace Snyder (wife of A.A. oldtimer Clarence H. Snyder), she was asked at length about the books that Dr. Bob had in his library.
The first thing we discovered is that Clarence had a good many of these books in his own library of A.A. books; and Clarence got sober in February of 1938, was one of Dr. Bob's most active sponsees, and founded Cleveland A.A. where Clarence continued to use the Bible, the Oxford Group materials, the Big Book and the Twelve Steps--with the result that Cleveland's success rates were of the best--a 93% success rate. And Cleveland A.A. grew far faster than any group in the early days of A.A. See DR. BOB and the Good OldtimersDr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers. See also the information that Grace Snyder conveyed to us in her interview.That Amazing Grace: The Role of Clarence and Grace S. in Alcoholics Anonymous.
The next thing we discovered is that Dr. Bob felt these religious books were an important part of the Akron Christian Fellowship's recovery program. The Bible, of course, came first; and reading of the Bible was stressed in early A.A.The Good Book and the Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible (Bridge Builders Edition) But then came the topics covered in the books Dr. Bob owned. The Bible, Jesus Christ, Prayer, Quiet Time, the Oxford Group, Soul-Surgery (the book that laid out the five C's that became the heart of the Steps), healing, The Runner's Bible--which was a key "meditation" book used during Quiet Time by early AAs, and books on the psychological aspects of recovery from alcoholism.
Dr. Bob owned these books, and we have seen most of them at Sue Windows' home, at Smitty's home in Texas, and at Dr. Bob's Home in Akron. Many of the books have an inscription by Dr. Bob in his own hand. They have his name, his address in Akron, a date, and the comment: "Please return."
The pieces came together when Grace Snyder said that when Dr. Bob circulated one of his books, he put the name of the book and the borrower in writing. When the borrower returned the book, Dr. Bob quizzed the person about the contents of the book. And, of course, Dr. Bob said that most of the oldtimers believed the answes to their problems were in the Good Book. Hence every book had its special role in that it explained some aspect of the Bible, the life of Jesus, Christian healings, prayer, Quiet Time, life-changing, and other viewpoints such as those of Richard Peabody and some New Thought writers. The Runner's Bible itself was a guide to Christian living--covering the nature of God and Jesus Christ, God's desire to heal, God's forgiveness, God's guidance, God's love. and God's power. A large number of correlative Bible verses were included and quoted on these subjectgs.The runner's Bible
Even in his later Big Book, Bill Wilson wrote in connection with Step Eleven that there were many helpful books. He suggested asking one's rabbi, minister, or priest for recommendations. And he added: Be quick to see where religious people are right. Make use of what they have to offer.
In other words, neither Bill nor Bob pretended to know even a small part of all the facets of Christian recovery. And therefore the books they recommended and the sources of referral are part and parcel of real Christian "old school A.A." recovery today.
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