The Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous
Members of A.A. affectionately refer to the book "Alcoholics Anonymous" as the "Big Book". It is the basic text of the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous, and has helped large numbers of alcoholic men and women, young and old, recover.
As of December 2009, 30,664,881 copies of the Big Book have been sold or otherwise distributed (source AA GSO NY). Thus it ranks high on the list of best-selling books ever. The 25 millionth copy of the Big Book was published in 2005, so currently over a 1 million copies of the book, Alcoholics Anonymous, are sold each year. In 2010 the 30 millionth book was presented to the American Medical Association which has long recognised alcoholism as a disease.
More impressive still, it has sold this many copies even though it is available free online in English, Spanish and French. Testimonials to A.A. are included in the Big Book in the form of personal stories wherein A.A. members describe their difficulties, their victory over them, and their hope that others may also recover.
The Big Book "Alcoholics Anonymous" Online
AA Big Book: Text and Spoken Versions
The Big Book is available free online in these versions: