Alcoholics Anonymous and the Rockefeller Connection: How John D. Rockefeller Jr. and his Associates Saved AA

Book excerpt: This book straddles the divide between personal story and period history. In his finely researched account, Jay D. Moore follows the life of a driven, genius stock analyst brought to the brink of insanity by alcohol. A second thread traces the story of a physician humbled and bewildered by the same struggle. Finally, the story traverses the path through life of an unimaginably wealthy man, telling how he decides to use his treasure to benefit others. It has been said that there are no new ideas, only history we have not yet learned. No new ideas were brought to the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous, for everything the co-founders and early members did had been done before. What they managed to change, however, was to stick to their knitting. The facts presented here help separate the truth from legend, as the story of Alcoholics Anonymous and the Rockefeller connection is presented with more depth and analysis than has been brought to the subject before.