Conference-approved A.A. history · biography and oral history
Dr. Bob’s life and A.A.’s beginnings in Akron and the Midwest
Drawing on interviews with friends and family, this history follows Dr. Bob S. from his New England childhood and medical career through his meeting with Bill W., the beginnings of A.A. in Akron, and his death in 1950.
- Biography of co-founder Dr. Bob S.
- Early Akron and Midwest history
- Interviews and recollections
- 26 archival photographs
About Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers
Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers combines the life story of A.A. co-founder Dr. Bob S. with recollections of the Fellowship’s beginnings in Akron and the Midwest. A.A.W.S. describes the book as the result of extensive research and interviews with Dr. Bob’s friends and family.
The biography begins with Dr. Bob’s childhood in New England and follows his education, work as a surgeon, marriage, fatherhood, and alcoholism. It then recounts his inability to stop drinking and the meeting with Bill W. that helped give rise to Alcoholics Anonymous in Akron.
The early-A.A. portions preserve the experiences and memories of people who knew Dr. Bob and participated in the Fellowship’s Midwest development. These recollections give readers a view of early members, families, groups, and practices in the setting in which they arose.
The account continues through Dr. Bob’s work in A.A. and his death in 1950. Read beside the official A.A. timeline, the biography helps place his life within the sequence of early group growth, A.A. publications, and later service milestones.
The official edition contains twenty-six photographs. AA.org provides the publication description, while the A.A. eBooks catalog identifies current electronic availability.
The story the book preserves
Dr. Bob before A.A.
New England childhood, education, surgery, marriage, fatherhood, and alcoholism provide the biographical foundation.
Meeting Bill W.
The book recounts Dr. Bob’s difficulty stopping drinking and the meeting that preceded A.A.’s beginning in Akron.
Early A.A. in the Midwest
Interviews and recollections preserve the experiences of people who knew Dr. Bob and participated in the Fellowship’s early development.
Later life and record
The account continues through Dr. Bob’s A.A. work and death in 1950; the edition also contains twenty-six photographs.