A.A. World Services, Inc. is pleased to announce the publication of the only authorized reproduction of the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous. This new addition will be a faithful replica of the original, with the famous “circus cover” dust jacket and bulky paper (which is why it was initially called the Big Book).

The official publication date of the first printing of our Big Book, as noted by the United States Copyright Office, was April 10, 1939. There were 4,730 books printed, with red cloth binding, wide columns, thick paper (which was why it was called the Big Book in the first place), and a red, yellow, black and white dust jacket, which came to be known as the “circus cover.”

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the historic publication of Alcoholics Anonymous in April 1939, the 2013 General Service conference approved the creation of this facsimile edition of the first printing of the first edition.