> with AA history.
> > birthdays/anniversaries. They are local
From: johnlawlee . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/21/2006 6:40:00 PM
wrote:
>
Mitchell:
I stand by my earlier posting. The person who wrote
"The Unbeliever" is not the person who wrote "To
Employers".
There is absolutely no overlap between the two, although they
were both written in 1938 or early 1939. I don't believe you can
point to a single phrase in "The Unbeliever" which supplies
language/terms/style similar to that found in "To Employers"; for
that matter, there is no language or phrasing in "The Unbeliever"
which is similar to language or phrasing in any part of the Big Book.
"The Unbeliever" is a farrago, a confused mess...staccato, almost
hallucinatory style. "The Unbeliever" was not written by the
person
who wrote Chapter 10. On the other hand, every paragraph of Chapter
10 contains phrases found in other chapters of the basic text. As
just one example, out of dozens I could give, pages 143-44 of Chapter
10 talk about the "subject matter" of this book. "It contains
full
suggestions by which the employee may solve his problem." Compare 143-
44 with the similar language found on page 45 of the earlier Chapter
4, about the "main object" of the book ["to find a
Power...which will
solve your problem"]. I'd be happy to go over Chapter 10 with you,
line by line, and point out where phrases from Chapter 10 are used
identically, elsewhere in the Big Book. The person who wrote Chapter
10 borrowed heavily from the other ten chapters of the Big Book.
It defies belief that Hank wrote Chapter 10 in isolation. If Hank did
in fact compose Chapter 10, he was a liberal plagiarist who copied
Bill Wilson's exact language and writing style. Hank would have also
completely changed his writing style and language in a six month
period,and discarded all his ideas from his own story. The better
view is that all eleven chapters of the Big Book were drafted by the
same person. They were not written at all by the person who
authored "The Unbeliever".
I have no doubt that Hank claimed in Hank's correspondence that Hank
authored Chapter 10. In a similar vein, Ebby Thatcher loved to refer
to himself as a "founder" of AA. I have no doubt that Hank's one-
time brother-in law, Clarence S., gave Hank credit for Chapter 10. I
have no doubt that Hank's ideas made their way into Chapter 10. Hank
was a former Standard Oil executive, who shared a small office in
Newark with Bill Wilson and Ruth Hock. Bill Wilson composed Chapters
1 through 11, no doubt running ideas past Hank in their office every
day. Bill Wilson gave Hank credit for Chapter 10, even though Bill
had done the writing.
In summary, it should be undisputed that Bill Wilson was the author
[the "principal" author, if you prefer] of Chapters 1 through 11.
There is nothing in Hank's first edition story to suggest that Hank
composed Chapter 10. Although Bill had some character defects,
hugging credit was not one of them. Bill publically praised William
James, Sam Shoemaker and Ebby Thatcher as "founders" of AA. It
should
not be surprising that Bill would be equally modest in allowing Hank
to take credit for Chapter 10.
love+service
john lee
pittsburgh
> If one just takes a written story published in the Big
> Book as the only example of Hank's writing style it is
> not doing diligent service to historical research.
> There are several letters written by Hank and other
> documents, including oral histories which give
> authorship of that chapter (Employers) to Hank. I wish
> I had a tape recorder at the time but Ruth told me
> Hank was the author when I asked her at Stepping
> Stones. Merton's research, my conversations with Ruth,
> Clarence and others as well as my reading several
> letters and other documents written by Hank lead me to
> believe Hank was the author.
>
>
>
> --- johnlawlee wrote:
>
> > --- In AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com, "ArtSheehan"
> >
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > Bill didn't write the chapter "To Employers" (just
> > the first
> > > paragraph). Hank P wrote the chapter.
> > >
> > > I don't get a sense that the Big Book was written
> > in the manner or
> > > with the intent that is often presumed in
> > analyzing it (perhaps
> > > over-analyzing it might be a better way of putting
> > it).
> > >
> > > The member who asked the question is using a form
> > of reasoning that
> > > appears sincere, but flawed in its analytical
> > gymnastics. It does
> > > little more than open the door to what can be an
> > endless amount of
> > > speculation that serves more to distract rather
> > than inform.
> > >
> > > Many Big Book chapters have a specific target
> > audience (usually
> > > denoted in the chapter titles). In this case it's
> > employers.
> > >
> > > The underlying assumption that the importance of a
> > sentence is
> > somehow
> > > enhanced or diminished by its appearance in an
> > early or later part
> > of
> > > the book is a flawed assumption being treated as
> > fact.
> > >
> > > The most popular, and perhaps important, portion
> > of the Big Book,
> > read
> > > at many meetings comes from its 5th chapter "How
> > It Works." Trust
> > me,
> > > there is no need to move this chapter further
> > toward the beginning
> > of
> > > the book to emphasize its importance. It stands on
> > its own content
> > as
> > > do all the other chapters.
> > >
> > > Cheers
> > > Arthur
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
> > > [mailto:AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
> > Of Charlene C.
> > > Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 12:57 PM
> > > To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
> > > Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Crooked thinking
> > >
> > > it would be my guess that employers are more
> > inclined to think in
> > > intellectual terms than medical or spiritual.
> > especially in that
> > > time, when alcoholism was considered more of a
> > moral dilema than a
> > > spiritual mallody or terminal illness.
> > >
> > > just a thought.
> > > C. Cook
> > >
> > > Hank Parkhurst is generally cited as the author of
> >
> > "To Employers" [Chapter 10 of Big Book]. I've always
> > found that hard
> > to believe, based on the contrast between the
> > divergent styles of
> > Chapter 10 and Hank's story in the First Edition.
> > Hank's story, "The
> > Unbeliever" is choppy, almost manic. It's filled
> > with
> > elipses,exclamations, etc. I've always suspected
> > that Bill Wilson did
> > the actual writing of Chapter 10, although Hank
> > supplied many of the
> > ideas for Chapter 10. Bill, Hank and Ruth Hock
> > shared a small office
> > in Newark when they put together the Big Book. I
> > don't see any
> > language in Hank's story which is similar to the
> > content or style of
> > Chapter 10. Bill was very generous in giving credit
> > for the
> > contributions of others; for instance, Bill referred
> > to William James
> > as a "founder" of AA, even though Professor James
> > had been dead for
> > decades when AA was founded.
> > The authors of Chapter 10 are laying out a big order
> > for employers.
> > They're asking employers to read the Big Book and
> > use it to "12 step"
> > their employees. I don't see any information in
> > Chapter 10 which is
> > inconsistent with the first five chapters. The
> > intended audience was
> > different. It's not a different message.
> > john lee
> > member
> > pittsburgh
> > > trixiebellaa
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