Ebby: The Man Who Sponsored Bill W.

It's an important book in this respect because in doing so it fills in many of the gaps in the story and also reveals some of the lesser-known characters in the early years of Alcoholics Anonymous and the Oxford Groups which were to splinter into AA.

Although Ebby's life was not to be the spectacular success of his friend Bill's, Ebby's role was just as critical in establishing AA in its early months. The book reveals how the relationship between the two men developed over the years, despite Ebby's frequent returns to drinking.

Ebby is also a poignant reminder to people in recovery of some of the pitfalls of relapse, which in many ways is even more important than the joys of sobriety.


An Informative moving tribute to,perhaps the real founder...   November 29, 2001
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

"Ebby" is not just a book,it's a book of stories,a book that traces sobriety before A.A. before "Bill and Bob" even before "Ebby".
How did Bill W, really get sober? who carried the message to "Ebby"?
When was A.A. actually founded? and who should take the credit for its founding?
This book tells the story of those days just before A.A.as we now know it was "officialy" formed.
It talks of the people from the "Oxford Group" who carried the message to Ebby,Cebra G, Shep C and Rowland H,whose story appears in "The Big Book".
this book asks why A.A. should want to distance itself from the "Religious" roots of the "Oxford Group" from which it started.
But mostly it tells a very moving story, the story of "Ebby" and of Alcoholics Anonymous. A story of success riddled with failure.
Here we can read how those who were sucsessful were exalted,and those like Ebby who would to fail again and again were somhow "defective" or "Less than honest with themselves"
It also looks at those people who really seemed to care,especially the McPike's. And is Generous in it's comments on "Bill W"
This is not just a good book its a Great book, and an embarrassment to those of us who have achived "long term sobriety" (in my case 22 years)and whose minds have not yet opened to the possibility that "perhaps just perhaps" that this one programme for every type of alcoholic is not the whole solution.
The Author,Mel B did not I am sure mean to be contoversial, but this is a short and powerful story of powerful people who found themselves in a powerful position.
perhaps having read this book you might understand a little more why "Ebby T" had little or no hope of staying sober.Either way "just keep an open mind"