There have been a number of limited publications of books believed to be those that early AAs read. However, the first question is whether a listing of books will be helpful today to those who want to recover and be cured of alcoholism. The fact is that early A.A. had a documented 75% to 93% success rate among seemingly hopeless medically incurable real alcoholics who went to any lengths to establish a relationship and fellowship with their Creator. One of their major spiritual tools consisted of the large number of specific Christian books and articles they read in their effort to learn about God, about His son Jesus Christ, about the Bible, and about how to pray and lead a life based on cardinal Christian teachings. Several different people were advising them as to books to be studied. First, of course, was Dr. Bob Smith. And this title covers the books he read, studied, recommended, and circulated. Second, his wife Anne Ripley Smith kept a journal of the books read and those she recommended. These also are covered. Then there were the lay leaders of the early Christian fellowship--Henrietta Seiberling and T. Henry Williams and his wife Clarace. The books they read, discussed, and recommended are listed. So too those studied by Clarence Snyder, who had such great success helping alcoholics in Cleveland and then for many years thereafter. Also, there were the daily devotionals in common use--the Upper Room, The Runner's Bible, Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest, the E. Stanley Jones devotionals--Abundant Living and Victorious Living. Glenn Clark produced devotionals that were used, as did Emmet Fox, Harry Emerson Fosdick, and many others. This title covers them all. It offers many choices to those who want to acquire and study the religious literature that was so much a part of the early pioneer prayer, Bible study, quiet time, and reading life. You will find the book, now in its 7th edition, a real guide to what you can read today for recovery, following the same path the highly successful early pioneers followed in Akron. The passage of time and the volume of sales have justified this 7th edition. More and more books have come to the author's attention as his research has continued. More and more books have become available through book searches. And more and more 12 Step Fellowship members and others have begun collecting, using, studying, and growing spiritually from reading the wonderful books A.A. pioneers read. The sources are documented. And former U.S. Congressman John F. Seiberling, who attended the early meetings as the son of A.A.'s woman leader (non-alcoholic), and who helped provide some of the books has written a foreword to this edition. It is an invaluable reference resource and offers a specific set of reading materials for those wanting to grow spiritually by reading the Bible, Christian classics, life of Jesus Christ, prayer, healing, love, life-changing, fellowship, witnessing, and forgiveness literature which helped A.A. pioneers to get well and stay well. The more I find and study the early literature from St. Augustine to The Upper Room, I see what I missed when I first came to A.A. The program, in the early days, was not about meetings or drunk-a-logs or psychobabble. It was about God, Jesus Christ, the Bible, the gift of Holy Spirit, prayer, healing, forgiveness, love, guidance, and all the rest. You can only see the depth and value if you read the books that early AAs read. They recovered! I have had so many calls for the books in Dr. Bob's Library, the books that his wife Anne Smith recommended, the books that Bill Wilson read, the books that Akron founders such as Henrietta Seiberling and Mr. and Mrs. T. Henry Williams read, as well as other A.A. pioneers that I felt this comprehensive listing should be provided. But its 7th edition contains a good deal more. It lists the Sam Shoemaker books, the Oxford Group books, and the other Christian literature that impacted on the Twelve Steps, A.A.'s Big Book, and the A.A. Fellowship. In addition, it contains the most complete bibliography available of the biblical, Christian, and spiritual literature that influenced the Twelve Steps and the A.A. program. Twelve Step people, clergy, churches, Christians in general, therapists, treatment centers, government agencies, scholars and collectors have found it most valuable. I hope that you will too. From the Foreword by John F. Seiberling: What did these non-alcoholics [T. Henry and Clarace Williams and Henrietta Seiberling] have that made Bill and Bob so eager to plumb their thoughts and to share experiences with them? Having myself attended some of the same Oxford Group meetings and, as the son of Henrietta, had many close, sharing conversations with her, I can think of no better way to recapture their spiritual inspiration than to turn to the books they read that were among the sources of their inspiration. Fortunately, it is now much easier to do this, thanks to the untiring work