More Twice-Born Men: Narratives of a Recent Movement in the Spirit of Personal Religion

by Harold Begbie
(1923 First Edition)

Description

More Twice-Born Men by Harold Begbie, published in 1923. This important early work explores the beginnings of what came to be known as the Oxford Group Movement, led by Frank Buchman. Later, the Oxford Group’s emphasis on confession, surrender, and spiritual transformation would profoundly influence the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous and many other 12-step recovery programs.

Published in the United States as More Twice-Born Men and in England under the title Life Changers, this book was one of the very first works to introduce the world to Frank Buchman and his unique method of personal, face-to-face spiritual work.

Begbie, a respected journalist and popular author of the time, presents a series of vivid character sketches—real-life narratives of young men whose lives were dramatically transformed through their encounters with Frank Buchman. Each story reads less like a dry religious tract and more like a compelling personal testimony.

• From the Preface: Begbie reveals that this work documents a movement that had been growing “almost in secret” among university students worldwide, led by “a single person” who shunned publicity and statistics, preferring the privacy of personal encounters.

• From the First Chapter: Begbie candidly describes how Buchman’s method differed from other religious workers—centered not on preaching to the masses but on the intense, personal, one-to-one engagement that could produce profound and lasting change.

• Individual Narratives: The book contains first-hand accounts and confessions that illustrate the Oxford Group’s focus on absolute honesty, personal surrender, and moral transformation. These stories are presented with freshness, originality, and a striking honesty that was rare for religious literature of its time.

Historical Significance

This volume stands as one of the earliest published introductions to Frank Buchman and the Oxford Group Movement. Its importance was magnified by the endorsement of William James, the famed psychologist and author of The Varieties of Religious Experience. James, deeply impressed by Begbie’s earlier Twice-Born Men, even remarked that his own work might be considered a “postscript” to Begbie’s narratives.

With More Twice-Born Men, Begbie extended this legacy, helping to legitimize and publicize a movement that would eventually influence countless lives worldwide. Today, its value lies not only in its literary merit but also in its role as a foundational text of modern spiritual and recovery movements.

Condition

• Binding: Hardcover; general wear and spotting to boards.

• Pages: Clean; no writing or markings noted inside.

• Dust Jacket: Original Jacket has edge wear and tears, and is split into three separate pieces with the spine missing. The fragments have been carefully preserved and placed inside a protective mylar cover for presentation.

• Rarity: First editions with the original dust jacket are exceedingly difficult to find.