January 11 in A.A. History

2008: A memorial service honoring Robert “Bob” P. [right, with his wife Betsy] was held in Sun Valley, Idaho, following his death on January 1.
    Bob made significant contributions to Alcoholics Anonymous, serving on the General Service Board from 1968 to 1974 and as the General Manager of the General Service Office (G.S.O.) from 1974 to 1984. His personal story, “A.A. Taught Him to Handle Sobriety,” appears in both the 3rd and 4th editions of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.

     He also wrote a Manuscript of A.A. World History, dated 1985. This manuscript served as the first draft of an in-depth history of Alcoholics Anonymous from the time Bill W. wrote Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age. In 1986, the Conference Literature Committee recommended that “a definitive book on A.A. history from 1955-1985 be prepared and brought to the 1987 Conference for consideration.” The committee produced Advisory Actions regarding this “A.A. History Book” every year from 1987 to 1993. All but the final one specified that work on the book should continue and that a report be made at the following year's Conference. In 1993, the Advisory Action recommended that “the A.A. History Book project be deferred for two years so that a new team of A.A. servants can look at the History Book with fresh ideas.” The single readily available copy of this manuscript (on silkworth.net) notes on the first page that it “was rejected by the Trustees’ Literature Committee and was not published.”