Not-God (79 page)
Authors: Ernest Kurtz
Based on all the above, Wilson, “Memorandum to Our Writing Team, subject: Historical Time Table,” unpublished and undated but clearly from late 1954; cited: “Memo.”
III SOURCES LATER THAN AACA:
[Wilson], “Alcoholics Anonymous: Beginnings and Growth,” talk given to the New York City Medical Society, 28 April 1958, published in its entirety in “Alcoholism the Illness: (since 1976: “Bill on Alcoholism”); cited: “Beginnings,” pagination from the pamphlet.
[Wilson], “Clergy Conference,” talk to the Annual Convention of the National Clergy Conference on Alcoholism, New York, 21 April 1960; cited:
NCCA
, pagination from the transcript. An edited version appears in the
NCCA Blue Book
12: 179-205 (1960).
Henrietta Seiberling, “Origins of Alcoholics Anonymous,” privately mimeographed and distributed by her son, John F. Seiberling, with a cover-letter detailing her background, dated May 1972, and based on a May 1971 telephone conversation; cited: HS, “Origins.”
Nell Wing, “Pre-A.A. History,” unpublished brief outline, cited: NW, “Pre-History.”
Nell Wing, “Outline of A.A. History,” unpublished, first draft drawn up by Wing for Thomsen in 1974; I have used an updated and corrected version of that draft; cited: NW, “Outline.”
IV OTHER PUBLISHED SOURCES:
The A.A. Grapevine
, the “monthly journal of Alcoholics Anonymous,” cited:
AAGV
. Volume One, Number One, was June 1944, and publication has been continuous. “A.A.” was inserted into the title in early 1946, after discovery that an in-house F.B.I, organ had preempted “The Grapevine,” as
AAGV
was at first titled.
“Final Reports[s] of the General Service Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous;” the first G.S.C. was held in 1951. Although “published,” these are not available for distribution outside of A.A.
[Wilson],
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
(New York: A.A. Publishing, Inc., 1953); cited:
12&12
. Like
AACA
, this book was also published for general distribution by Harper & Row, same date and place.
[Wilson],
As Bill Sees It
(New York: A.A. World Services, Inc., 1967), cited:
ABSI
. This was first published as
The A.A. Way of Life – A Reader by Bill
. It contains excerpts from both his published and his unpublished writings that were, at the time of publication, deemed worthy of wider diffusion among Alcoholics Anonymous. Its significance to this study lies mainly in that final fact.
V CLOSED SOURCES AND THEIR STATUS TO SCHOLARS:
The “Minutes” of the Alcoholic Foundation and of the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous are closed to specific citation. When my questions about their contents were answered with
visu
extracts, I have cited this circumstance.
The Wilson correspondence is closed under three degrees of restriction. The present research was the first scholarly access to the first two of these degrees. It is my understanding that all letters cited herein are open to serious scholars. Since almost all of the Wilson correspondence was sent from New York, the place is not cited unless other than New York. Further, out of respect for A.A. practice and the conditions of my access to the archives, names of all but prominent people — in both cases whether members of A.A. or not — are cited by surname initial only.
Alcoholic Foundation and Alcoholics Anonymous correspondence: same as the Wilson correspondence.
In a continuing project, the Trustees’ Archives Committee of Alcoholics Anonymous tape records the memories of surviving “oldtimers” and eventually produces transcripts of these tapes. The tapes may be heard with the permission of those still living; otherwise they remain restricted for twenty-five years after the individual’s death. On occasion, information from those not open was reported to me by Nell Wing — when so, this is noted. I listened directly to the tapes of Clarence S. and Marty Mann. Whether my access was to the tape or to the transcript, the citation is to [name], tr.
The papers of Marty Mann and the National Council on Alcoholism are held by the George Arents Research Library at Syracuse University, under restriction. Permission to research in them may be obtained from Mrs. Mann
via
the NCA.
VI INTERVIEWS OF HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT FIGURES:
Lois Wilson, widow of William Griffith Wilson. Lois’s diaries and some early scrapbooks are available only through her. At the time of this research, Lois was working on an autobiography, and her materials were well-arranged for reference. The diaries were available for exact citation only with Lois’s specific permission, which I rarely requested out of respect for her age, health, and time. Accordingly, the citation “Lois Wilson” covers both my interviews with her (tape recordings of which I hold), and some diary material.
Nell Wing (occasionally cited: NW) began working for Alcoholics Anonymous in March of 1947. From late 1950 to the time of his death, she was Wilson’s personal secretary; during this time, she was part of the “Research and Writing Project” which produced
AACA
. From 1955 she was A.A.’s librarian, and since 1972 has been its archivist.
Marty Mann was the first woman to stay sober in Alcoholics Anonymous. (Because of a later “slip” by Marty, there was at the time of this research at least one woman claiming longer continuous sobriety in A.A.). Mrs. Mann had been a patient of Dr. Tiebout and in the early 1940s was his strongest link to A.A. Her role in the founding of the National Council on Alcoholism is treated within this study.
Henrietta Seiberling’s (occasionally cited: HS) role in the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous is described within this study. Until the present research, she had declined to give interviews. She has since been interviewed for the A.A. archives, and I have had access to that tr.
Clarence S[nyder] reveals no shyness about the use of his full surname, but following A.A. practice I have retained only the initial within this study. Clarence’s role in A.A. is described herein. He claims to have on tape and ready for publication his own version of the history of Alcoholics Anonymous: I have not had access to this work, but I have interviewed Clarence at length by telephone and hold two lengthy and detailed letters from him answering specific questions. Further, Clarence “annotated” for this research a copy of
AACA
, detailing his disagreements with Wilson’s version of A.A. history. For a late added detail on my access to and use of Clarence,
cf
. note #13 to Appendix A.
VII THE SPECIAL PROBLEM OF DR. ROBERT HOLBROOK SMITH SOURCES:
For a time especially during the 1950s, some who were upset with developments within A.A. proclaimed Clarence S. to be the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. According to Henrietta Seiberling, she with Wilson and Dr. Bob and Anne Smith are A.A.’s “co-founders.” Alcoholics Anonymous itself accepted William Griffith Wilson and Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith as “co-founders”: I accept the general accuracy of this last and delineate it herein.
A problem arises because Dr. Smith was not a writer, even of letters, so that with the exception of HS and Clarence — each of whom tends to argue a particular point of view delineated in Appendix A — Wilson is basically the sole source for the earliest history of Alcoholics Anonymous. Beyond the other sources already noted, I sought to correct for this by intensively directing research efforts at a grasp of Dr. Bob Smith.
The main written source on which I rely for information on Smith, beyond his story in
AA
, is “Last Major Talk,” so titled and privately published under an incorrect date and place (Cleveland, Ohio, 1950) — delivered at Detroit, MI, in December of 1948. This has been supplemented by the interview sources cited in note #67 to Chapter One, and by materials in the files of Rosary Hall, the alcoholic ward of St. Vincent’s Charity Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, which was modeled on Dr. Bob’s St. Thomas Hospital practice in Akron and from 1952 to 1966 was under the direction of Sister Ignatia. These materials are described as cited. The name “Rosary Hall,” incidentally, derived from the intention to honor Dr. Bob, but anonymously. The initials for “Rosary Hall Solarium” graced its main door: they just happened, of course, to be Dr. Bob’s own initials.
VIII CLEVELAND SOURCES BEYOND CLARENCE S.:
Interviews with Warren C. and Dick P., who are identified and a portion of whose stories appear in the Appendix. Dick P., at the time director of the Cleveland A.A. District Office, also made available for research early group records and memorabilia in that office’s archives.
Interviews with Sister Victorine, whose significance is explained in note #61 to Chapter Three.
GENERAL INDEX
BIBLIOGRAPHIC INDEX
This Bibliographic Index to chapter and note number of this work is intended to assist the reader in locating where and how secondary and interpretive sources have been used. Full bibliographic data will be found in the first reference for each entry.
This Bibliographic Index does NOT list: works by William Griffith Wilson or Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith; references to Robert Thomsen’s biography of Wilson,
Bill W.;
references to the anonymously authored pamphlet literature produced by Alcoholics Anonymous; and unpublished materials other than dissertations.
Aaron, Daniel: VII-4.
Abel, Reuben: VII-14.
Aharan, Charles H.: VIII-35.
Ahlstrom, Sidney: VIII-12.
Alexander, Jack: III-44.
Allen, E. B.: VIII-21.
Allen, Frederick Lewis: VII-4.
Altizer, T. J. J.: VIII-33.
Anderson, D.: VIII-14, 20.
Anonymn, Kenneth: V-41.
Arieli, Yehoshua: VII-12.
Armstrong, J. D.: VIII-14.
Augustine: VIII-9.
Avineri, Shlomo: VII-22; IX-12.
Ayars, Albert L.: VIII-48.
Baars, Conrad W.: VIII-23.
Bacon, Selden D.: VIII-4; IX-9.
Baekeland, F.: III-41.
Bakan, David: VII-17.
Bales, R. F.: VI-43; VIII-4.
Barbara, D. A.: IX-9.
Barrett, William: I-52; VII-23; VIII-1, 17; IX-31, 35, 53.
Bean, Margaret: IX-31.
Becker, Carl: VII-13, 14; APX A-15.
Becker, Ernest: IX-34.
Beecher, Henry Ward: VIII-26.
Begleiter, Henri: I-3, 49; IX-3, 13.
Behrens, William W.: VII-29.
Beigel, A.: III-41.
Bell, Daniel: VII-6.
Bell, R. G.: VIII-14, 29.
Bendiner, Robert: VII-4.
Benson, Purnell Handy: IX-9.
Bensoussan, P. A.: I-54; VIII-21.
Bercovitch, Scavan: VII-13.
Berger, Louis: VII-20.
Bergman, Anni: IX-33.
Bernstein, Irving: VII-27.
Bethel, M. H.: VIII-14.
Binder, Arnold and Virginia: VII-24.
Bircher, R.: I-54, 79.
Bird, Caroline: VII-4.
Bishop, Jim: Intr. Pt. Two; VIII-46; IX-31.
Black, C. E.: VII-12; VIII-1; IX-57.
Blum, Carol: VII-14.
Bonacker, R. D.: IX-21.
Bonney, M. E.: VIII-14.
Borghes, P.: I-54.
Borland, B. L.: V-71.
Braden, Charles Samuel: II-33.
Brinton, Crane: VII-13.
Brodsky, Archie: IX-38.
Brown, C. L.: VIII-20.
Brunner-Orne, M.: IX-9.
Burgler, E.: VIII-14.
Burns, John: VIII-23; APX A 20.
Bum, E. A.: VII-13.
Butterfield, Herbert: VII-13.
Button,, A. D.: VIII-21.
Cadoret, R.J.: IX-3.
Cain, Arthur H.: VI-18, 22; VIII-4.
Cantril, Hadley: II-33.
Carpenter, E. S.: VI-5.
Carroll, J. L.: VIII-14.
Carter, Paul A.: VII-27.
Carver, A. E.: VIII-21.
Cassirer, Ernst: VII-14.
Catanzaro, R. J.: V-47.
Chafetz, Morris E.: VI-20.
Chamberlain, John: VII-26.
Chambers, Clarke: VII-26.
Chambers, Francis T.: Intr. Pt. Two; IX-31.
Cioran, E. M.: VIII-10.
Clancy, J.: VIII-19.
Clark, Walter Houston: II-32, 33; IV-69; VII-17.
Clinard, M: IX-12.
Clinebell, H.J.: IX-31.
Coben, Stanley: VII-27.
Cochrane, Raymond C: VII-14.
Cohen, Felix: IX-31.
Cole, J.O.: VI-5.
Commoner, Barry: VII-29.
Condon, George: IV-12.
Conroy, William J.: VI-29.
Cranford, V.: VIII-14.
Crewe, Charles W.: V-38.
Croly, Herbert: VII-26.
Cross, Whitney R.: APX A-34.
Crothers, Rachel: II-33.
Davies, D. L.: IX-3.
Davis, Allen E: VII-26.
Davis, C. N.: I-79.
Davis, Elrick: IV-2.
de Kruif, Paul: VII-11.
de Vries, Jan: VII-17; VIII-1.
Demone, Harold W.: VI-20.
Dent, J. Y.: IX-31.
Digest of Positions of the American Medical Assn.: V-33.
Doroff, D. R.: III-41.
Dowds, B. N.: VIII-14.
Dureau, Agnes: IV-12.
Durkheim, Emile: VII-17; IX-12.
Edwards, A. E.: VIII-21.
Edwards, David G.: VIII-29.
Edwards, G.: III-41.
Ehrenberg, Otto and Miriam: VII-24.
Eister, Allen W.: II-33.
Ellis, Albert: VIII-23.
Ellison, Jerome: VI-18, 32.
Erikson, Kai T.: VIII-29.
Evans, Richard I.: VIII-23.
Fajardo, Roque: IX-24.
Farber, Leslie H.: VIII-18; IX-20, 31, 44, 53.
Filler, Louis: VII-4.
Finney, Charles G.: VIII-20.
Fontana, A. F.: VIII-14.
Ford, John C.: II-31.
Fosdick, Harry Emerson: IV-23.
Foucault, Michel: VII-14, 18; IX-4.
Fox, Daniel M.: VII-27.
Freidel, Frank: VII-7.
Fuller, G. B.: VIII-14.
Galbraith, John Kenneth: VII-4.
Gavit, John Palmer: VII-26.
Gay, Peter: VII-13, 15.
Gaylin, Willard: VII-29, 32.
Gellman, Irving Peter: II-28; VIII-4.
Gelven, Michael: VII-23.
Ghertner, Stuart: III-41.
Gibbs, Wolcott: VIII-46.
Giddens, Anthony: VII-17; IX-12.
Gilbert, James B.: VIII-17, 31.
Gladston, I.: IX-31.
Glasser, Ira: VII-29.
Glasser, William: VIII-23.
Goethe, Wayne: VIII-35.
Goffman, Erving: VII-18.
Goldman, Eric F.: VII-6.
Graham, Otis L.: VII-26.
Gusfield, Joseph R.: VIII-3.
Hale, Nathan G.: VII-19.
Hamilton, William: VIII-33.
Handlin, Oscar: VII-3; VIII-12.
Hanfman, E.: IX-36.
Hanson, P. G.: VIII-14.
Harper, Robert A.: VII-24; VIII-23.
Hart, H. H.: VIII-14.
Hartmann, Edward G.: VII-26.
Hartz, Louis: VII-12.
Hawker, A.: III-41.
Hawthorn, Geoffrey: VII-17.
Heard, Gerald: VIII-20.
Heath, R. G.: VIII-21.
Heidegger, Martin: VII-23.
Heinisch, Paul: IX-5.
Helm, S. T.: VIII-14.
Henderson, J. L.: IX-9.
Hensman, C.: III-41.
Herberg, Will: VII-6.
Hershon, H. L.: VIII-29.
Higham, John: VII-26.
Hirsch, Fred: VII-29.
Hoffman, Frederick J.: VII-27.
Hoffman, Helmut: VIII-14; IX-21.
Hofstadter, Richard: VII-26; VIII-32.
Hoggson, R. L.: VI-43; VIII-4; IX-31.
Holmes, R. M.: VIII-4.
Horney, Karen: IX-39.
Howe, Frederick: VII-26.
Hunter, Robert: IX-6.
Hutchison, Percy: IV-23.
Hutchison, William R.: VIII-11, 12, 26,31.
Hurwitz.J. I.: VIII-21.
Hurwitz, Nathan: VIII-23.
Jackson, Charles: V-26.
Jackson, J. K.: VIII-4.
James, William: I-51; VIII-24.
Jellinek, E. M.: I-49; V-20, 35; VIII-14; IX-2, 8.
Johnson, Bruce Holley: I-49; VIII-3, 45; IX-8, 13.
Johnson, David W.: VII-20.
Johnson, Vernon E.: IX-24.
Jones, M. B.: V-71.
Jones, R. K.: I-54; VIII-4.
Jourard, Sidney: IX-39.
Kammeier, M. L.: VIII-14.
Kant, Immanuel: VII-14.
Keller, Mark: I-49, VIII-14; IX-8.
Kennedy, D. M.: VII-26.
Kernberg, Otto: IX-21, 34.
Kessel, Joseph: I-54.
Kilpatrick, William: VII-20.
King, Arthur: VI-22.
King, Thomas M.: VII-23.
Kissin, Benjamin: I-3, 49; III-41; IX-3, 13.
Knight, Robert P.: VIII-14.
Koch, Adrienne: VII-13.
Kohut, Heinz: IX-21, 34.
Kolakowski, Leszek: VII-15.
Kropotkin, Peter: IX-40.
Krutch, Joseph Wood: VII-26.
Kushi, Michio: VII-18.
Landis, C.: VIII-14.
Lange, Carl Georg: VIII-24.
Lasch, Christopher: IX-34.
Leach, Barry: I-3; III-4, 41; IV-60; V-4; VII-2; VIII-21.
Lelos, D. A.: VIII-21.
Lemere, F.: VIII-4.
Leuchtenberg, William: VII-27.
Levinson, Daniel J.: VII-21.
Levy, Beryl Harold: VII-14.
Lewis, Helen: VIII-29.
Lipset, Seymour Martin: VII-12.
Lisansky, E. S.: VIII-21.
Lisansky-Gomberg, E. S.: VIII-14.
Lisman, S. A.: IX-21.
Little, G. Aiken: VIII-40.
Loper, R. G.: VIII-14.
Lovejoy, Arthur O.: VII-16.
Lubove, Roy: VII-26.
Lunn, Arnold: II-33.
Lupton, Dilworth: IV-5.
Lynd, Helen Merrell: VIII-29.
Machen, J. Gresham: VIII-43.
Madsen, William G.: VI-43; VIII-4; IX-36.
Mahler, Margaret S.: IX-33.
Malcolm, A. I.: VIII-14.
Manchester, William: VII-9.
Mandelbaum, Maurice: APX A-15.
Mann, Arthur: VII-26.
Manuel, Frank: VII-15.
Marcell, David W.: VIII-17, 31.
Marcus, Steven: VII-29.
Markey, Morris: IV-17.
Maxwell, Milton A.: V-14; VI-43; VIII-4, 22, 35; IX-17, 36.
May, Henry F.: VII-13, 27.
Mayeroff, Milton: VII-32.
McBrien, Richard P.: VIII-33.
McGaughran, C. S.: VIII-14.
McLoughlin, William G.: VII-9; VIII-11, 20, 26.
McNamara, J. H.: VIII-29.
Mead, Sidney E.: APX A-34.
Meadows, Donnella H. and Dennis L.: VII-29.
Medaglini, E.: I-54.
Meerloo, J. A. M.: VI-5.
Mendelsohn, Robert S.: VII-18.
Merk, Frederick: VII-7.
Metcalfe, G. E.: VIII-4.
Meyer, Donald: VIII-17.
Milam, James R.: IX-11.
Milgram, Gail Gleason: VIII-48.
Minogue, S. J.: V-4.
Mitchell, Broadus: VII-4.
Mogar, R. E.: VIII-14.
Morison, Samuel Eliot: VII-7.
Mouchot, G.: I-54; VIII-4.
Mowrer, O. Hobart: VIII-20, 23.
Mullahy, Patrick: VII-20, VIII-23.
Murphy, M. M.: III-41.
Murray, M. P.: IX-39.
Musto, David E: IX-34.
Myers, Henry Alonzo: VIII-10.
Nathan, P.E.: IX-21.
Niebuhr, H. Richard: VIII-12.
Nisbet, Robert A.: VII-21; IX-40.
Noble, David: VII-26; IX-53; APX A-15.
Norris, John L.: I-3; III-4, 41; IV-60; V-4; VII-2; VIII-21.
Nouwen, Henri J. M.: IX-39.
Oden, Thomas C.: VIII-20.
Orne, M.: IX-9.
Paredes, A.: IX-3.
Parker, Charles Follen: Intr. Pt. Two.
Patten, Simon N.: VII-27.
Peabody. Richard R.: IV-53; Intr. Pt. Two.
Pease, Otis: VII-26.
Peele, Stanton: IX-38.
Pieper, Josef: IX-55.
Pine, Fred: IX-33.
Pittman, David J.: VIII-22; IX-36.
Putnam, Nina Wilcox: V-27.
Rado, S.: IX-31.
Randers, Jurgen: VII-29.
Reiss, Hans: VII-14.
Rieff, Philip: VII-16, 24; VIII-10; IX-12.
Rimland, Bernard: VII-24.
Ripley, H. S.: VIII-4.
Robinson, David: V-71.
Robinson, John A. T.: VIII-33.
Rogers, Carl R.: VIII-23.
Rokeach, Milton: VIII-7.
Roman, Paul M.: VIII-4, 23, 29.
Roth, Robert J.: I-53.
Rothman, David: VII-29.
Rudie, R. R.: VIII-14.
Ryback, R. S.: VI-5.
Sagarin, Edward: VIII-29.
Sands, P. M.: VIII-14.
Sartre, Jean-Paul: VII-23.
Savage, C.: VI-5.
Schneider, D. U.: IX-3.
Schultz, Duane: VII-20.
Schumacher, E. F.: VII-29; IX-51, 54.
Seiden, R. H.: III-41.
Seliger, R. V.: VIII-14, 21.
Sennett, Richard: VII-14.
Sessions, P. M.: VIII-4.
Shannon, Homer H.: V-27.
Sheehy, Gail: VII-21.
Sheldon, R. B.: VIII-14.
Shoemaker, Helen Smith: II-30, 33.
Shoemaker, Samuel M.: I-55; II-30, 33.
Shryock, Richard H.: VII-18.
Sicherman, Barbara: VII-18.
Silkworth, William D.: I-48; IV-23.
Silverberg, William V.: IX-33.
Simmel, E.: IX-31.
Simon, Steven I.: VIII-23.
Sinclair, Andrew: VIII-3.
Sister Ignatia: III-61.
Smith, Ardis: V-26.
Smith, John E.: I-52; VIII-1, 31.
Sontag, Susan: IX-4, 7.
Sperry, Willard L.: VIII-29.
Spoerri, Theophil: II-33.
Stewart, David A.: VIII-4, 29; IX-24.
Strecker, Edward A.: Intr. Pt. Two; IX-31.
Strout, Cushing: I-54; VIII-17.
Suckling, Norman: VII-14.
Sugerman, A. Arthur: I-3, 49; IX-3, 13.
Szasz, Thomas: VIII-18, 43.
Taintor, Eliot: V-26.
Taylor, George A.: VIII-4.
Tarter, Ralph E.: I-3, 49; IX-3, 13, 21.
Terruwe, Anna A.: VIII-23.
Thompson, W. H.: VIII-4.
Thune, C. E.: VIII-14.
Tiebout, Harry M.: V-38; VIII-19, 20, 22; IX-50.
Tillich, Paul: VIII-1.
Tipple, John: VII-26.
Tomsovic, M.: VIII-14.
Tremper, M.: VIII-21; IX-31.
Trice, Harrison M.: III-41; VIII-4, 23, 29.
Tyler, Alice Felt: VIII-3.
Ullman, A. D.: V-35.
Unger, Roberto Mangabeira: VI-41; VII-21; IX-40, 57.
van der Does de Willebois, A. E. M.: IX-9.
Villiaumey, E. M.: I-54.
Voegtlin, W. L.: VIII-4.
Walther, H. A.: II-33.
Walzer, V.: VIII-14.
Weber, Max: VII-17.
Weinberg, Jon R.: VIII-22; IX-17; APX-4.
Werner, M.: VIII-14.
Westermeyer, J.: VIII-14.
Wheelis, Allen: VII-13; IX-57.
White, Morton: VII-26; VIII-32; IX-53, 57.
White, William A.: VIII-14.
Whitley, O. R.: VIII-4, 20.
Wiebe, Robert H.: VII-26.
Wilkerson, A. E.: I-49; IX-8.
Williams, George Huntston: VIII-38, 41.
Williams, L.: IX-31.
Williams, William Appleman: VII-4.
Williamson, V.: III-41.
Wills, Garry: VII-13.
Wilson, Arthur M.: VII-14.
Wilson, Lois: I-62; II-15; III-10; IX-23.
Wilson, W. M.: VIII-14.
Wine, D. B.: VIII-21.
Woodruff, C. R.: VIII-20.
Wylie, Philip: VII-11.
Yablonsky, Lewis: VIII-23; APX A-18.