{"product_id":"thomas-powers-three-book-collection","title":"Thomas E. Powers \/ Tom P. — Three-Book Collection","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThomas E. Powers \/ Tom P. — Three-Book Collection | From Spiritual Inquiry to All Addicts Anonymous\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOffered here is a three-volume collection by \u003cstrong\u003eThomas E. Powers, known in recovery circles as Tom P.\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cem\u003eFirst Questions on the Life of the Spirit\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eInvitation to a Great Experiment\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eAll Addicts Anonymous\u003c\/em\u003e. The set includes two jacketed hardcovers and a 1993 paperback.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTogether, these volumes document successive forms of a work that Powers continued to revise over several decades. Their publication history connects his exploration of spiritual experience with the development of a fellowship applying Twelve Step principles across different addictions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThomas Powers and His Place in Recovery History\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThomas Edward Powers Sr. (1911–2005) was a writer, editor, and former advertising executive whose personal recovery brought him into close contact with A.A. co-founder Bill Wilson. Powers first attended A.A. in 1941 and achieved lasting sobriety in October 1946, with Wilson as his sponsor. His struggle to reconcile disbelief with the spiritual requirements of recovery became an important background to his later writing. \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.riamco.org\/render?eadid=US-RPB-ms2010.002\u0026amp;view=biography\"\u003eBrown University archival finding aid\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1950s, Powers assisted Wilson with the preparation of \u003cem\u003eTwelve Steps and Twelve Traditions\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eAlcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age\u003c\/em\u003e, and the Second Edition of the Big Book. His career also included work as a religious book editor at Harper \u0026amp; Brothers. These experiences placed him at the intersection of recovery literature, publishing, and practical spiritual inquiry. \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/alladdictsanonymous.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AAA-Pioneers-Series-Greshams-Law-Booklet.pdf\"\u003eAll Addicts Anonymous historical booklet, pp. 36–39\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Emergence of All Addicts Anonymous\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePowers subsequently co-founded \u003cstrong\u003eAll Addicts Anonymous with his son, Tom Powers Jr.\u003c\/strong\u003e The fellowship’s history traces its beginnings to informal gatherings in Chappaqua, New York, during the late 1950s. Their work continued at the East Ridge Recovery Community, established in 1964.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAAA extended Twelve Step practice to people struggling with multiple forms of addiction. Its approach emphasized daily spiritual action and incorporated the Four Absolutes—honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love—alongside the Twelve Steps and a set of practical principles known as the Ten Points. This history gives the books a place within the broader development of Twelve Step fellowships beyond A.A. \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/alladdictsanonymous.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AAA-Pioneers-Series-Greshams-Law-Booklet.pdf\"\u003eAAA’s account of its founders and principles\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Books and Their Evolution\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eFirst Questions on the Life of the Spirit\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThomas E. Powers · Harper \u0026amp; Row · Copyright 1959 · Hardcover with dust jacket\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOriginally published in 1959, this work approaches spiritual life through questions intended to lead the reader toward personal investigation and action. Powers presents spiritual understanding as something to be pursued through lived experience. The introduction establishes the questioning, practical approach that would continue through later revisions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe copy offered here carries the Harper \u0026amp; Row imprint and a 1959 copyright statement. Its precise printing is not established by the photographed publication page.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eInvitation to a Great Experiment: Exploring the Possibility That God Can Be Known\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThomas E. Powers · Doubleday · 1979 · Hardcover with dust jacket\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 1979 Doubleday volume explicitly identifies itself as a substantial reworking and revision of \u003cem\u003eFirst Questions on the Life of the Spirit\u003c\/em\u003e. It includes a \u003cstrong\u003ePreface to the Second Edition\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe revised title brings Powers’s central concern into sharper focus: whether knowledge of God can be approached through a practical experiment in living. Its publication page also credits an appendix on group use of the work as a workbook, reflecting its application beyond individual reading.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAll Addicts Anonymous: New Edition of the AAA Big Book\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTom P. · East Ridge Press · Hankins, New York · 1993 · Paperback\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis edition presents the work directly within the setting of All Addicts Anonymous. Its title page emphasizes putting the Third Step into daily practice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe publication page traces the earlier versions through \u003cem\u003eFirst Questions\u003c\/em\u003e in 1959, \u003cem\u003eInvitation to a Great Experiment\u003c\/em\u003e from Doubleday in 1979, and a Crossroad edition in 1990. Published by East Ridge Press by arrangement with Crossroad, the 1993 volume connects that continuing spiritual inquiry explicitly with the AAA program. The intervening 1990 edition is not included in this set.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCondition\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe three volumes differ in condition:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFirst Questions:\u003c\/strong\u003e The dust jacket shows toning, rubbing, creasing, tears, chips, and paper loss. The cloth exhibits handling wear. A damaged, partly removed bookplate and an affixed catalog-style slip are present.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eInvitation:\u003c\/strong\u003e An ex-library copy with library stamps, numbers, withdrawal markings, rear labels, and endpaper residue. The jacket and binding show age and handling wear.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAll Addicts Anonymous:\u003c\/strong\u003e The paperback shows surface wear and wear along the cover edges and corners.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlease examine all photographs for the condition of each volume.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCollector Notes\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis collection offers an opportunity to compare three stages in the publication of Powers’s work. For collectors of A.A. history, related fellowships, and recovery literature, its interest lies in the connection between an author who assisted Bill Wilson, his continuing investigation of spiritual practice, and the eventual presentation of that work as the AAA Big Book.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOffered together as one three-book collection.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Recovery Collectibles","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":68120005607666,"sku":"RC-20261030-B12-0522","price":795.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0328\/4625\/0120\/files\/01-img_0522.jpg?v=1793429525","url":"https:\/\/recoverycollectibles.com\/products\/thomas-powers-three-book-collection","provider":"Recovery Collectibles","version":"1.0","type":"link"}