The official publication date of the first printing of our Big Book 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 this historic printing—and the book’s 75th anniversary—the 2013 General Service Conference approved the creation of this facsimile edition, a faithful replica of the original. This edition is published in the original English-language text only.
