Two Signed Books - Bill W. and Tom White - Second Edition Big Book and Bill W.: A Different Kind of Hero
This is a special package of two signed books! The first book being a Second Edition First Printing Big Book that has been inscribed by Bill W. to his friend Tom White. The second book is titled Bill W.: A Different Kind of Hero which was written by and signed by the author Tom White.
Second Edition First Printing Big Book:
This book has been rebound with a new blue cover that looks great! The inscription by Bill Wilson is on the second page inside the book. The inscription reads: “Dear Tom, This extra copy in grateful recollection of your devotion to AA’s Grapevine. Ever, Bill. BH / Xmas 55”
The First Printing of the Second Edition book was released at the 1955 International Convention in St. Louis.
The first three printings of the second edition do not feature a printing number on the copyright page of the books which can make it a little more difficult to identify which printing this book truly is. Fortunately there are ways to authenticate this specific book as a 1st printing of the second edition.
This book does not come with an original dust jacket so identifying the specific printing number is done by looking at the copyright page and page “xx”.
The first indicator to look at in identifying printing numbers of the second edition is to notice the different markings on the dust jacket. If the dust jacket is labeled as a "Second Edition" on the cover and labeled as published by "A.A. Pub, Inc." on the spine and back flap, it is a first or second printing of the second edition dust jacket. If it is labeled as a "Third Edition" on the cover and labeled as published by "A.A. Pub, Inc." on the spine and back flap, it is a third printing of the second edition dust jacket.
To verify the printing number of the book, look at the spine of the book and title page to identify if the book was published by "Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing, Inc."(A.A. Pub. Inc, for short) or published by "Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc." If the book is published by "Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing, Inc.", it is a first, second, or third printing of the second edition. If it is published by "Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc." it is a fourth through sixteenth printing.
If the book is published by "Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing, Inc.", the next step is to look at page “xx”, line 6, if the word “really” is spelled incorrectly and spelled “realy” then the book would be a first printing of the second edition. The first printing was first published in 1955 and released at the AA International Convention in St. Louis.
The first and second printings are entirely identical to each other with exception for the spelling of the word "really" on page "xx".
If the word "really" is spelled correctly on page "xx", then one more step is needed to identify which printing of the second edition a book is. The answer is on page 16, by reading the asterisk at the bottom of the page. If the asterisk reads "AA is now composed of nearly 6000 groups (1955).", then the book is a second printing of the second edition. The book can be identified as a third printing if the asterisk reads "AA is now composed of some 7,000 groups (1959)."
When verifying the printing of this book with the information above, you can notice the different markings on the dust jacket and inside the book that authenticates this as a First Issue 1st Printing of the 2nd Edition. The dust jacket on this book shows that it was labeled as a "Second Edition" and printed by A.A Pub. Inc on the spine. Included on the back flap of the dust jacket is the extra paragraph of text. On page “xx” line 6, the word “really” is spelled incorrectly as “realy.”. On page 16, the asterisk reads "AA is now composed of nearly 6000 groups (1955)."
Here is some historical information about the Second Edition of the Big Book:
“Originally published in 1939, when membership of the A.A. Fellowship was less than one hundred, the first edition of this book has now gone through more than 300,000 copies.
To members, old and new, certain facts about our second edition may be of interest.
Of course, the basic text itself, page 1 to page 165, remains substantially unchanged. To the minds of most A.As, this should stand as first written.
But the front matter has been re-edited and enlarged, including an historical sketch.
Additional recommendations from religion and medicine are given.
A larger Appendix records the A.A. Tradition, and also shows how A.A. can best be reached from any part of the world.
The Personal Story Section has, however, been much revised to meet the needs of an A.A. membership grown from 100 to more than 150,000.
To afford readers a better view of our present membership, the Story Section of this edition now comprises thirty-seven case histories, an addition of 110,000 words of completely new material.
Special attention is drawn to Part II of the stories entitled, "They Stopped in Time".
These will be of particular interest to all who wonder whether they are alcoholics and if A.A. is for them.
This work is authorized by the General Service Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous in the confident hope that a new milestone has been erected upon the road of A.A. progress.”
Another notable and historical note about anonymity is present on the dust jacket of all Second Edition books:
“If you wish to preserve complete personal anonymity when carrying this book, just turn this jacket inside out. It has been especially designed for your convenience.”
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Bill W. A Different Kind of Hero by Tom White:
This is a First Edition published by Boyds Mills Press in 2003. This is a hardback version with the original dust jacket. This book has been signed by the author Tom White on the second page of the book.
An inspiring account of an extraordinary life. There are heroes of politics, religion, war, and history. There are heroes of sport, science, and legend. Bill Wilson was an entirely different kind of hero. After years of unhappiness and hospitalizations for alcoholism, he hit bottom. Although not a religious man, he called out to God in desperation. In response, he experienced a tremendous inner vision. Instantly, he was a changed man. In 1935, he co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous and created the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions that would serve as the foundation of AA's program for recovery from this widespread addiction.
Please view all of the photos for the conditions.