My Name Is Bill : Bill Wilson--His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, Compelling Story
Review: Susan Cheever has done a great service for any reader interested in the deeply American life story of Bill Wilson. She traces the influences of his strict Yankee grandfather, his emancipated mother, his high-living father -- and much more -- on what would gradually become the ideas that revolutionized the way alcoholics might find lasting relief. Susan Cheever brings a special empathy and grace to the heartbreaking story of Bill Wilson's lost first love. From there, Cheever draws a clear and compassionate picture of Wilson's life-long battle with his own demons, while he cleared the way for millions. My Name Is Bill is a great story, told with skill and passion. A generous and beautiful book by Susan Cheever.

Rating:
Summary: An important book!
Review: This is a gripping book; I read it in a single sitting. Bill W. is a very interesting figure, and Susan Cheever tells his story in a lucid and compelling way. But the book offers more than just a biography: it also does some very sophisticated and nuanced intellectual history. I came away from the book with a much deeper understanding of the multiple roots and contexts of the twelve-step program.

Rating:
Summary: Well done
Review: This is a well written true account of the struggles of a man that with courage and determination not only beats his own "habit" but starts a foundation that goes on to help thousands of people with the same type of problems.
I am an avid reader of memoirs/autobiographies...this is one of the best tell all's...I rank it up there with "Nightmares Echo", "Running With Scissors", "Lucky" and "Dry". I applaud the work of this book.