Jellinek and the Big Book
Since its first edition in 1939, the basic text of Alcoholics Anonymous, the story of how more than 100 men have recovered from alcoholism, known as the “Big Book” has helped millions of men and women recover from alcoholism. It happened to be published in the exact same year E. M. Jellinek and crew would begin their literature review in earnest.
Jellinek was one of the first scholars to see value in the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. He used the data that he collected from AA members as the basis of his “Phases of alcoholism." Jellinek’s interest in AA inspired other researchers to explore the dynamics and methods that made AA successful and popular from a scientific perspective.
CAAAL 688
Jellinek’s first encounter with A.A. occurred during a 1939 review of the available alcohol literature through a project funded by a Carnegie Corporation grant—a project that essentially birthed the field of modern alcohol studies. One of the items included in this massive review was the Big Book, the nickname of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) founder Bill W.’s Alcoholics Anonymous: The story of how more than one hundred men have recovered from alcoholism.
Jellinek wrote the abstract for the Classified Abstract Archive of the Alcohol Literature (CAAAL), which grew into a collection of approximately 20,000 abstracts printed on McBee sorting cards that were punched (around the edges) according to subject codes listed in the CAAAL Manual.
Decades later, Jellinek’s first reflections were published in AA Today, a book published by AA Grapevine, commemorating the 25th Anniversary of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1960.
One day that year, I found on my desk a book with a yellow and red dust cover. Its title was ‘Alcoholics Anonymous.’ With a sigh, I picked it up and said to myself: ‘some more crank stuff.’ But I hardly read a few pages when I realized that I had one of the precious gems before me. (p. 41)
The fact that Jellinek invited Bill W. to the inaugural Summer School a few years later speaks volumes about his understanding and appreciation.
CAAAL Card: Abstract of the Alcoholic Anonymous "Big Book" by E. M. Jellinek
The original McBee card prepared for the Classified Abstract Archive of the Alcohol Literature by E. M. Jellinek. His description of the central thesis of the book is that the solution to alcohol addiction “is a deep and effective spiritual experience which revolutionizes [one’s] whole attitude toward life.”
Bill W. at SSAS
Jellinek invited Bill W. to speak at the very first session of the Summer School of Alcohol Studies (SSAS), held at Yale in 1943 (see listing on page 4 of the 1943 SSAS program brochure). It established the tradition of bringing members of the larger community (including Alcoholics Anonymous, alcohol beverage industry representatives, clergy, criminal justice, education, medicine, Women’s Christian Temperance Union, etc.) under one roof along with alcohol researchers.
The lectures were first published as Abridged Lectures of the First (1943) Summer Course on Alcohol Studies at Yale University. Bill Wilson also presented at the second SSAS, where all of the lectures were recorded, and all but four were edited and compiled into Alcohol, Science and Society, including lectures and the discussions that followed them in a single volume.
His lecture in the collection is #29, entitled The Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous attributed, per the group’s custom of anonymity, to “W. W. (one of the founders).”
Bunky and Bill W. at SSAS in 1961
Summer School of Alcohol Studies Reunion, 1961
Before the move to Rutgers, the last gathering at Yale called Reunion (Alumni Institute) was attended by illustrious lecturers and alumni.
Jellinek Memorial Award to Bill W.
It's only fitting that Bill W. became the only non-scientific person who received the prestigious Jellinek Memorial Award, established by various national groups to honor E. M. Jellinek, as one of the greatest contributors to alcohol studies.
The award was presented posthumously to Bill W., a co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, who died in 1971, noted for his work in A.A. and in changing public attitudes toward alcoholism. On behalf of Wilson’s widow, Mrs. Lois Burnham Wilson, R. Brinkley Smithers accepted the award at the 30th Anniversary Banquet of the Rutgers Summer School of Alcohol Studies (SSAS), July 13, 1972. The ceremonial speech was given by Mark Keller, a longtime member of the SSAS faculty.