I'm pretty sure this gets the best ratings from alcoholics themselves and maybe their families as well.

It works for the people it works for

This book will be in my hands forever. It is a super reminder of all that needs to be done. Even a person without an addiction can benefit from reading this book. It will help with spiritual growth.

A design foor living that really works. This book helped me find the power to solve my problem. I think it is very well written- I use it as a textbook- and it has stood the test of time. I am slightly more partial to the third edition because it was my first, but the only difference is the stories.

I fought reading this... childhood wounds from growing up with an alcoholic parent...then loving many alcoholics in my family/life to being an alcoholic myself...I could not have gotten through the first months of (choosing) sobriety, without this book. One day at a time + my higher power God, and support of people that have been personally 'walked the walk' and lived through addiction... and recovery!

Wow it's like I can relate to every single page of this book. They really get to the meat of things. I love it and think this book is priceless. I'm reading it again with my sponsor right now which is definitely the best way to do it.

The Holiday Season is one day at a time. Gift yourself another day. The Big Book is in season granting chances to achieve NEW never known before. Santa keeps you honest to know your great presence is loved, uncommonly. Every snowman knows his scarecrow standing in him. And the dance they dance is one...day at a time.

Outdated and antiscientific manifesto for cult

Another book for my Addictions class. It's good to get acquainted with this one; every therapist should be familiar with the 12 steps.

A couple of months ago, I was interacting a lot with addiction therapists at work. A lot of people in the field are recovering addicts. After asking a lot of questions about the twelve-step program, one of the therapists (brilliant guy, lived as a homeless man for two years before getting sober) gave me the "Big Book." I was vaguely familiar with the twelve steps like admitting you have a problem, making amends, etc., but I had no idea that the AA book is mostly a how to guide for a spiritual transformation. A transformation that will also get you sober. Interesting chapter to atheists pushing them towards deism, or at the very least agnosticism. Interesting insight into the nature of the "disease."

I know this isn't the only model for recovery, but this is the one that has worked best, and I was surprised to find out how it works.

I read this along with a close friend who is overcoming alcoholism. Incredibly insightful and impressively organized/structured/edited. I'm not sure I ever really understood the disease prior to reading this and it is inspiring that such a program has provided relief and fellowship to so many. Re-affirms a lot of the central tenets of most spiritual practices (accepting the lack of control inherent in life, a focus on giving back/service to others, humility, self-examination, fellowship). The personal accounts were heartbreaking but still uplifting. Most of us, whether we're fighting a disease or not, also want acceptance, support, and a sense of inner solace/balance in our lives.

I've put no "finish date" because most of us who use this book are never done with it. It is a sort of sacred scripture. Kurt Vonnegut called AA, "the only American Religion." This is the 3rd edition of a book that was originally released in the early 1940's, I believe. Quite simply, it is a step by step description of the system that some people used to keep themselves away from taking one drink today.
What I find fascinating is that the book is also one that describes the structure of any successful spiritual discipline. Notice that I did not say "religion." This is a description of how to live a life that is spiritually mature. The system is "epigenetic," in that as one reads it and lives one's life according to the principles outlined in the book, one finds oneself deepening in one's understanding of each step in the process. Each day gives birth to a new understanding, a more mature understanding of the various meanings of the steps and certain events in one's life.
America is a country that relies upon addiction in order to keep our current conceptualization of capitalism going. If people don't want more things and must have the "new and improved" version of whatever, capitalism cannot work. It doesn't have to be that way, but that is how it is. This book is invaluable to anyone on the spiritual path. Don't be put off by the word, "Alcoholics", in the title. This is a book for everyone.
A word about why it is in its third edition. The only changes since the original are at the end, where there is an appendix of people's stories of how their life changed after they started practicing the steps. The second and third volumes are only different in that they include the stories of younger and younger people who have found the program and have used it to change their life. This is a book of love and hope. It is a book for everyone.