The most complete history of A.A. ever written. "Not-God" contains anecdotes and excerpts from the diaries, correspondence, and occasional memoirs of A.A.'s early figures. A fascinating, fast-moving, and authoritative account of the discovery and development of the program and fellowship that we know today as Alcoholics Anonymous.

I Am Not Perfect is a simple  statement of profound truth, the first step toward  understanding the human condition, for to deny  your essential imperfection is to deny yourself and  your own humanity. The spirituality of  imperfection, steeped in the rich traditions of the Hebrew  prophets and Greek thinkers, Buddhist sages and  Christian disciples, is a message as timeless as it is  timely. This insightful work draws on the wisdom  stories of the ages to provide an extraordinary  wellspring of hope and inspiration to anyone  thirsting for spiritual growth and guidance in these  troubled times.



Who are we? Why so  we so often fall short of our goals for ourselves  and others? By seeking to understand our  limitations and accept the inevitably of failure and pain,  we being to ease the hurt and move toward a  greater sense of serenity and self-awareness.  The Spirituality Of Imperfection brings  together stories from many spiritual and  philosophical paths, weaving past traditions into a  spirituality and a new way of thinking and living that  works today. It speaks so anyone who yearns to find  meaning within suffering. Beyond theory and  technique, inside this remarkable book you will find a  new way of thinking, a way of living that enables  a truly human existence.

Ernest Kurtz has been the outstanding thinker of the A.A. tradition's second generation, the one who played a constant leadership role in pushing the movement towards the highest professional standards of history writing and supplied some of its most influential interpretive concepts. His ideas are vitally important for anyone who wishes to understand A.A. history during the period following Bill Wilson's death in 1971.

As a Ph.D. student at Harvard University in the 1970's, he was the first researcher to be granted full access to the archives of Alcoholics Anonymous. The book that resulted, "Not-God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous" (1979), is still the classic work on early A.A. history. His book on the spiritual life-Ernest Kurtz and Katherine Ketcham, "The Spirituality of Imperfection: Modern Wisdom from Classic Stories" (1992)-is equally well known, and has also been an enduring best seller through the years since it appeared. His work on Shame & Guilt (orig. pub. 1981, rev. ed. 2007) has given a whole new depth to the discussion of those two vital recovery issues.

This present book, containing twelve key articles written by Kurtz between 1982 and 1996, gives us a fourth volume from his hand, displaying the impressive range and breadth of his thought on alcoholism, addiction, and spirituality.

"Here under one cover is Kurtz at his best: historian, gadfly, teacher, interpreter, and master storyteller . This is must reading for any student of Alcoholics Anonymous and the evolution of spirituality in America."
-William L. White, author of "Slaying the Dragon: The History of Addiction Treatment and Recovery in America"