Rockefeller and the Big Book
How a modest act of support helped Alcoholics Anonymous publish its message
In the earliest years of Alcoholics Anonymous, the fellowship was still small, fragile, and largely unknown. Its pioneers had already seen that one alcoholic helping another could produce remarkable results, but the question remained: how could this message reach more people?
By the fall of 1937, Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith were discussing the future of the growing movement. Bill had ambitious ideas. He believed the group needed a book to explain the program, paid missionaries to carry the message, and a hospital devoted to treating alcoholics. Dr. Bob strongly supported the idea of a book, but he was uneasy about the other plans. He feared that money, professionalization, and too much organization might damage the spiritual and altruistic spirit that had made their work effective.
Still, both men knew that writing and publishing a book would require money. Neither had any. Bill was struggling financially during the Great Depression, and Dr. Bob was burdened by debt and professional difficulties. At a meeting in Akron, Bill presented his ideas to a group of about eighteen alcoholics. Many were skeptical, especially of paid missionaries and a hospital, but the group eventually voted to explore all three proposals.
Seeking financial support
Bill began looking for financial backing. After several unsuccessful attempts, he visited his brother-in-law, Dr. Leonard V. Strong. Strong helped arrange a meeting with Willard Richardson, who was connected with the charitable work of John D. Rockefeller Jr.
This meeting opened an important door. Rockefeller representatives became interested enough to investigate the work being done by the unnamed group of recovering alcoholics in Akron. Frank Amos, a Rockefeller associate who later became a longtime trustee of Alcoholics Anonymous, was sent to study the group and report back.
Amos was impressed. He recommended that Rockefeller contribute $50,000 to help launch Bill’s larger plans.
Rockefeller refused.
His reason proved to be one of the most important gifts he ever gave AA. Rockefeller believed that too much money could ruin the very thing that made the fellowship work. He saw that AA’s power came from one alcoholic helping another, not from large financial backing or institutional control.
But Rockefeller did agree to help in a smaller way. He placed $5,000 in the treasury of Riverside Church to provide assistance to Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith.
A modest gift with enormous consequences
That $5,000 did not fund a grand institution. Instead, it helped keep the two founders afloat at a critical moment.
Dr. Bob was at risk of losing his home, and a portion of the money helped pay off his mortgage. The remaining funds were distributed to Bill and Dr. Bob in weekly allowances of about $30.
Those small weekly payments had a major impact.
Dr. Bob was able to continue working with alcoholics in Akron. Bill was given the time and space to begin writing the book that would become Alcoholics Anonymous.
In the spring of 1938, Bill began writing. Around the same time, with help from the new Rockefeller-connected contacts, the Alcoholic Foundation was formed. Known today as the General Service Board, the Foundation was created partly in hopes of raising money to support the writing and publication of the book.
But by the fall of 1938, the Foundation still had not raised enough money.
Works Publishing and the struggle to print the book
It was then that early New York AA member Hank Parkhurst, whose story “The Unbeliever” appeared in the First Edition of the Big Book, urged Bill to keep control of the book by publishing it themselves.
Hank helped devise the plan for Works Publishing, Inc. The idea was to raise money by selling shares to AA members and friends. Bill’s background as a stockbroker helped shape the plan. Stock certificates were issued, even though the company had not yet been formally incorporated and had no real assets.
Bill and Hank held a controlling interest in the company. Ruth Hock, who served as secretary and typed much of the manuscript, also received shares as partial compensation. Other shares were sold to supporters, and Charlie Towns, owner of Towns Hospital, provided a loan.
Even then, funds were tight. The money raised helped cover writing and preparation costs, but printing the first 5,000 copies required additional financing. Edward Blackwell of Cornwall Press agreed to print the book with a small initial payment and a promise that Bill and Hank would pay the balance later.
In April 1939, Alcoholics Anonymous was finally printed.
Sales were slow at first. Relief did not begin to arrive until later in 1939, after the publication of “Alcoholics and God” in Liberty magazine brought national attention to the young fellowship.
The Rockefeller dinner
From 1937 to 1940, John D. Rockefeller Jr. continued watching Alcoholics Anonymous from a distance. He had seen the fellowship struggle, survive, and begin to grow. In February 1940, he hosted a dinner for AA.
The dinner was presided over by his son, Nelson Rockefeller, and attended by wealthy New Yorkers, friends of Rockefeller, and members of the new fellowship. Bill hoped the event would raise significant money for AA.
But once again, Rockefeller offered something different from what Bill expected.
At the close of the dinner, Nelson Rockefeller explained that Alcoholics Anonymous should remain financially self-supporting. Its strength, he said in effect, should not come from wealth or paid promotion, but from one alcoholic carrying the message to another.
This was a pivotal moment. Though disappointing at first to those who had hoped for major financial support, Rockefeller’s position helped shape what later became one of AA’s most important principles: declining outside contributions and remaining self-supporting.
A different kind of support
Rockefeller did not give AA a fortune. Instead, he gave the fellowship credibility, restraint, and encouragement.
After the dinner, he purchased 400 copies of the Big Book and sent them to those who had attended, along with a personal note endorsing Alcoholics Anonymous. The event also generated publicity, as newspapers and the public became curious about this “secret” society of recovered alcoholics that had attracted Rockefeller’s attention.
That publicity helped AA. The book began to reach more people. The fellowship began to gain recognition. And the principle that AA should not become dependent on outside money became clearer.
How AA came to own the Big Book
By 1940, Bill Wilson and the trustees of the Alcoholic Foundation believed that the Big Book should belong to Alcoholics Anonymous itself. To make that possible, preferred shares were issued, and with the help of a Rockefeller loan, the original Works Publishing shares were bought back at their par value of $25 each.
This allowed the rights to the Big Book to move into the hands of AA.
It was a major turning point in AA publishing history. The book that had been created through personal sacrifice, borrowed money, and uncertain prospects became the property of the fellowship whose message it carried.
Rockefeller’s lasting contribution
John D. Rockefeller Jr.’s role in early AA history is sometimes misunderstood. He did not finance Alcoholics Anonymous with a large donation, nor did he fund Bill’s original plans for paid missionaries and hospitals. In fact, he deliberately refused to give the large sum that had been recommended.
But his restraint may have been as important as his generosity.
He gave enough to help Bill and Dr. Bob survive at a crucial moment. He helped open doors. He lent credibility. He supported the distribution of the Big Book. And most importantly, he recognized that AA’s power depended on spiritual service, not financial backing.
Alcoholics Anonymous would forever have reason to be grateful for Rockefeller’s kindness, generosity, and wisdom. His contribution was not merely money. It was the insight that too much money could harm what one alcoholic helping another had already begun.