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Though few changes were made to Chapter 3 in the Second Edition published in 1955, there’s an interesting and notable asterisk at the end of a few sentences on the top of page 34 in the print version. Those two sentences, which remained unchanged from the First Edition, read, “We, who are familiar with the symptoms see large numbers of potential alcoholics among young people everywhere. But try and get them to see it! (exclamation point).” The asterisk refers the reader to the following footnote: “True when this book was first published. Today AA has many young members.” The footnote in the Third Edition points to a survey that showed 1/5 of US/Canada membership were people age 30 and under. The Fourth Edition footnote references a survey that indicated 11% of AAs being 30 and under. Regardless of how the differences in membership numbers between the Third and Fourth Editions are interpreted, it seems clear that by not changing the two sentences for the Second Edition, the footnote will likely show up in future editions of Alcoholics Anonymous as a way to clarify young people’s membership in the program.
Howard L, sober since January 1988, presents an inspired reading of this story and encourages listeners to revisit earlier podcast episodes that feature the main chapters and stories in the First Edition of the Big Book. Enjoy listening on our website, BigBookPodcast.com, or download and subscribe to the podcast for free at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And, if you have a minute, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.