Bill W. and Mister Wilson Bill W. and Mr. Wilson : the legend and life of A.A.'s cofounder

William Griffith Wilson, cited by "Time" magazine as one of the hundred most influential individuals of the twentieth century, is better known as Bill W., cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous. In this book, Matthew J. Raphael, himself a member of A.A. (and writing here under a pseudonym, in accordance with A.A.'s tradition of anonymity), presents a revealing new look at both the legendary Bill W. and the private Mr. Wilson, who tried to live apart from his own celebrity. William Griffith Wilson, recently cited by Time magazine as one of the hundred most influential individuals of the twentieth century, is better known to many as Bill W., cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous. In Bill W. and Mr. Wilson, Matthew J. Raphael, himself a member of A.A. (and writing here under a pseudonym, in accord with A.A.'s tradition of anonymity), presents a revealing new look at both the legendary Bill W. and the private Mr. Wilson, who tried to live apart from his own celebrity.

In quest of a more historically accurate and complete account, Raphael separates fact from fiction in the standard biographies of Wilson and finds reason to doubt the literal truth of some foundational A.A. stories. He also provides a context for Wilson's (and thus A.A.'s) key ideas in the work of William James, Carl Jung, and other modern thinkers. What emerges is an unvarnished portrait of a charismatic man and social visionary, whose true greatness is all the more apparent in view of his human imperfections.

Readers already familiar with Alcoholics Anonymous will find much to engage them. Others will discover A.A. and its cofounder from an insider's perspective.
"William Griffith Wilson, recently cited by Time magazine as one of the hundred most influential individuals of the twentieth century, is better known to many as Bill W., cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous. In Bill W. and Mr. Wilson, Matthew J. Raphael presents a revealing new look at both the legendary Bill W. and the private Mr. Wilson, who tried to live apart from his own celebrity.". "In quest of a more historically accurate and complete account, Raphael separates fact from fiction in the standard biographies of Wilson and finds reason to doubt the literal truth of some foundational A. A. stories. He also provides a context for Wilson's (and thus A. A.'s) key ideas in the work of William James, Carl Jung, and other modern thinkers. What emerges is an unvarnished portrait of a charismatic man and social visionary; whose true greatness is all the more apparent in view of his human imperfections." "Readers already familiar with Alcoholics Anonymous will find much to engage them. Others will discover A. A. and its cofounder from an insider's perspective."--BOOK JACKET. When A.A. speakers tell their stories, they ordinarily follow the triadic formula suggested in "How It Works," a passage, often read at meetings, from the fifth chapter of the Big Book: "Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now" (AA, 58). William Griffith Wilson is better known to many as Bill W., cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous. This work presents a revealing look at both the legendary Bill W. and the private Mr. Wilson, who tried to live apart from his own celebrity.