"Book Review"
of "Dr. Bob and His Library," 3rd ed., by Dick B.
A carefully
presented, unsolicited review of the 3rd edition of A.A. author and
historian Dick B.’s first published book about the supposedly missing
voluminous collection of books which A.A. Cofounder Dr. Bob read, studied,
recommended, and circulated to early AAs and their families. As Dick B.’s
research established, the collection was not missing; and even today—thought
not in one place--is available for view at two locations—Dr. Bob’s Home in
Akron and a library at Brown University.
These are
the books which Dick B. discovered on his first visit with Dr. Bob’s daughter
in Akron, Sue Smith Windows. On two different Akron visits, Sue discussed with and
then took Dick to her attic where he viewed, listed, and read a huge number of
the books Dr. Bob had in his library.
The surprise
for author Dick B. came when he saw for himself that: (1) Most of the books
were signed by Dr. Bob with the date, his address at 855 Ardmore Avenue in Akron, and a notation –
“Please return.” (2) Sue pointed out that her collection only contained half of
her father’s books and that the other half were in the possession of her
brother Robert R. Smith (“Smitty”) who lived in Nocona, Texas. (3) Dick
contacted and then visited Smitty and his wife Betty at their home in Texas and
verified the other half of Dr. Bob’s books. (4) At Dick’s urging, Smitty
donated almost all of his portion to Dr. Bob’s Home in Akron and said he
believed his sister was likely to do the same. (5) However, Sue became very ill
and much in need of funds; and she was persuaded to sell her half to Brown
University for its collect ion.
To listen to
this review and then to check out the books is a lifetime education in the
breadth and content of the “many helpful books” mentioned in the Big Book and
which furnished the literary backdrop for the books early AAs studied and
discussed. To firm up their importance, Dr. Bob kept a journal of his loans of
books, insisted that the readers return them, tell him the contents of the books at that
time, and thus insured that this “must read” collection was placed in the hands
of and understood by the early Akron A.A. Christian fellowship members.
This
informative book by the noted A.A. History author Dick B. has been widely
acquired; and the Third Edition can be
purchased today through Dick B.’s website at www.dickb.com/drbob.shtml; at Amazon.com; at Barnes & Noble; and through a
large number of distributor websites on the internet.
dickb@dickb.com; November 16, 2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment