THE ORANGE PAPERS A series of pages about Substance Misuse Recovery Programs, Real Recovery. and Analysis of Alcoholics Anonymous. An Online Book by "Orange" "There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance — that principle is contempt prior to investigation." HERBERT SPENCER The above famous misquote1 was put in the Big Book by William G. Wilson, in Appendix II, "Spiritual Experience", in the back of the second and third editions. Bill Wilson was trying to imply that we should not dismiss his "spiritual cure for alcoholism" without first trying it. That is curious, because in 1864 Herbert Spencer was actually arguing against fundamentalist religious beliefs and dogmatic blind faith, and in favor of Charles Darwin's new theory of evolution. Nevertheless, that quote sounds like good advice. So let's really, honestly, investigate Alcoholics Anonymous, without rejecting criticism of A.A. before investigation of all of the facts... What is the REAL A.A. success rate? Out of each 1000 newcomers to A.A., how many will pick up a one-year sobriety medallion a year later? Or ever? And how many will get their 2-year, and 5-year, and 10-year coins? How about 11 years and 21 years? HINT: the answers are here and here and here. This mirror of the Orange Papers has no affiliation with the original author, nor with various groups or chatrooms on "social media" that are named after the original Orange Papers. If/when the original Orange Papers website is returned online to a working state, this page will be redirected to his copy of the site. CONTENTS: Introduction The 12 Biggest Secrets of A.A. The Effectiveness of the Twelve-Step Treatment The Twelve Steps Interpreted The Twelve Traditions Interpreted Twelve-Step Snake Oil A.A. Horror Stories A.A. Suicides Interventions A.A. "No Meds" Horror Stories A.A. Divorces The Heresy of the Twelve Steps Propaganda and Debating Techniques The Bait and Switch Con Game Powerless Over Alcohol The Funny Spirituality of Bill Wilson and A.A. The Dry Drunk Bill and The Other Women The "Us Stupid Drunks" Conspiracy Recruiting Mind Games A.A. and Religious Faith The Hazelden Coffee War "It's Spiritual, Not Religious" Birth of BigBook Birth of BigBook II: Financial Analysis of the Creation of the Big Book Boot Camps: Children's Gulags The Killjoy Cover-Up The 12 Biggest Lies of A.A. The Problem With Statistics: Who Is Killing Themselves? Sentenced to A.A. What Carl G. Jung really said about treating alcoholism Tobacco What's Good About A.A.? What's Not Good About A.A.? Random Thoughts Stories of the Midtown Group of Alcoholics Anonymous Stories about Clancy Imusland's Pacific Group. And the Atlantic Group, Foxhall Group, Badger Group, and Nursery... A.A. "MILLIONS Saved" Stories Accusations that telling the truth about A.A. is killing alcoholics. Accusations of "you have a resentment". 900 A.A. slogans Posts to the Alcoholics Anonymous thread on Rick Ross' web site, which he deleted. Links — A zillion links to everything Wish List — things I wish I could get Bibliography Jokes Great Moments in Religion — Jerry Falwell A memorial page on Rev. Sun Myung Moon Pro-A.A. Propaganda, analyzed: A.A.-Booster Pseudo-Science: Spirituality: The key to recovery from alcoholism More A.A.-Booster Pseudo-Science: The Spiritual Dimension of Healing More Big Lies — A.A. Propaganda As Usual More A.A.-Booster Propaganda: the book Cults: Faith, Healing, and Coercion, by Marc Galanter Five more fake-science AA-booster papers More A.A.-Booster Propaganda: The Cybernetics of Self The International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction totally discredited the faked Humphries-Moos study that supposedly showed that A.A. works better than Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. More pseudo-science and deceptions: Lee Ann Kaskutas, "Alcoholics Anonymous Effectiveness: Faith Meets Science". Dr. Harry Tiebout: The First Fascist Mad Scientist of A.A. Answer to a George Vaillant Speech The Recovery Propaganda Machine, part 7 A reply to Kris Best's articles in the Lafayette Examiner An Alternate View On Recovery: The Lizard-Brain Addiction Monster How did you get to where you are? What works? Rat Park and Other Children's Stories How To Deprogram Your Own Mind Top 10 Reading List Sensible Evidence-based Recovery and Support Groups Bruce: "What is the answer?" Susan: "What works?" again 10 Steps to Loving Yourself Naltrexone and the Sinclair Method Scientific Studies of Naltrexone Baclofen worked for her. Consider a diagnosis of ADD or ADHD. Also see this letter about how a diagnosis of "alcoholism" immediately prevents any other underlying diagnosis like depression or ADD. The "authorities" claim that alcohol caused the mental problems, not that the mental problems caused the drinking. Consider a diagnosis of thyroid disease. Consider a diagnosis of dysthymic personality disorder. The Cult Test, and Alcoholics Anonymous as a Cult The Cult Test Questions The Cult Test Answers, for A.A. The Religious Roots of A.A. and the Twelve Steps Introduction and Table of Contents Bill Wilson Writes The Steps Frank Buchman The Religious Tenets and Doctrines of Buchmanism The Cult Characteristics of the Oxford Groups The "First Century Christian Fellowship" Campus Crusade in the 1920s Hobnobbing With The Nabobs My God How The Money Rolls In Partying with the Nazi Party The Oxford Group Morphs Into MRA The Years Before the War: Appeasing Hitler, and Apologizing for Hitler Invasion of Poland, WWII starts in Europe A Slogan a Day Keeps The Thinking Away Pearl Harbor, The USA Is In It Now; You (Not Me) Can Defend America Dodging the Draft Sam Shoemaker Quits What Is Fascism? How Fascist Was Frank Buchman? The War Years: On the Road Again Henry Ford and Anti-Semitism After The War, Trouble With The Catholics Frank Buchman, Anti-Communist, Union-Buster, Spiritual Strike-Breaker Homophobia and Gay-Bashing Partying in a Fairy-Tale Castle Death of a Salesman, Peter Howard Takes Over The Last Hurrah: Up With People Obscurity Bill Wilson Gets Religion (And Drugs) And Sees God Bill and Dr. Bob start A.A. William Birney's interview of Frank Buchman for the New York World Telegraph Reinhold Niebuhr's "Hitler and Buchman" article Rev. Ironside's Sermon On Buchmanism Review of Garth Lean's book, On The Tail of a Comet Footnotes Bibliography Letters, We Get Lots of Mail... Letters I Letters II Letters III Letters IV Letters V Letters VI Letters VII Letters VIII Letters IX Letters X Letters XI Letters XII Letters XIII Letters XIV Letters XV Letters XVI Letters XVII Letters XVIII Letters XIX Letters XX Letters XXI Letters XXII Letters XXIII Letters XXIV Letters XXV Letters XXVI Letters XXVII Letters XXVIII Letters XXIX Letters XXX Letters XXXI Letters XXXII Letters XXXIII Letters XXXIV Letters XXXV Letters XXXVI Letters XXXVII Letters XXXVIII Letters XXXIX Letters XL Letters XLI Letters XLII Letters XLIII Letters XLIV Letters XLV Letters XLVI Letters XLVII Letters XLVIII Letters XLIX Letters L Letters LI Letters LII Letters LIII Letters LIV Letters LV Letters LVI Letters LVII Letters LVIII Letters LIX Letters LX Letters LXI Letters LXII Letters LXIII Letters LXIV Letters LXV Letters LXVI Letters LXVII Letters LXVIII Letters LXIX Letters LXX Letters LXXI Letters LXXII Letters LXXIII Letters LXXIV Letters LXXV Letters LXXVI Letters LXXVII Letters LXXVIII Letters LXXIX Letters LXXX Letters LXXXI Letters LXXXII Letters LXXXIII Letters LXXXIV Letters LXXXV Letters LXXXVI Letters LXXXVII Letters LXXXVIII Letters LXXXIX Letters XC Letters XCI Letters XCII Letters XCIII Letters XCIV Letters XCV Letters XCVI Letters XCVII Letters XCVIII Letters XCIX Letters C Letters CI Letters CII Letters CIII Letters CIV Letters CV Letters CVI Letters CVII Letters CVIII Letters CIX Letters CX Letters CXI Letters CXII Letters CXIII Letters CXIV Letters CXV Letters CXVI Letters CXVII Letters CXVIII Letters CXIX Letters CXX Letters CXXI Letters CXXII Letters CXXIII Letters CXXIV Letters CXXV Letters CXXVI Letters CXXVII Letters CXXVIII Letters CXXIX Letters CXXX Letters CXXXI Letters CXXXII Letters CXXXIII Letters CXXXIV Letters CXXXV Letters CXXXVI Letters CXXXVII Letters CXXXVIII Letters CXXXIX Letters CXL Letters CXLI Letters CXLII Letters CXLIII Letters CXLIV Letters CXLV Letters CXLVI Letters CXLVII Letters CXLVIII Letters CXLIX Letters CL Letters CLI Letters CLII Letters CLIII Letters CLIV Letters CLV Letters CLVI Letters CLVII Letters CLVIII Letters CLIX Letters CLX Letters CLXI Letters CLXII Letters CLXIII Letters CLXIV Letters CLXV Letters CLXVI Letters CLXVII Letters CLXVIII Letters CLXIX Letters CLXX Letters CLXXI Letters CLXXII Letters CLXXIII Letters CLXXIV Letters CLXXV Letters CLXXVI Letters CLXXVII Letters CLXXVIII Letters CLXXIX Letters CLXXX Letters CLXXXI Letters CLXXXII Letters CLXXXIII Letters CLXXXIV Letters CLXXXV Letters CLXXXVI Letters CLXXXVII Letters CLXXXVIII Letters CLXXXIX Letters CXC Letters CXCI Letters CXCII Letters CXCIII Letters CXCIV Letters CXCV Letters CXCVI Letters CXCVII Letters CXCVIII Letters CXCIX Letters CC Letters CCI Letters CCII Letters CCIII Letters CCIV Letters CCV Letters CCVI Letters CCVII Letters CCVIII Letters CCIX Letters CCX Letters CCXI Letters CCXII Letters CCXIII Letters CCXIV Letters CCXV Letters CCXVI Letters CCXVII Letters CCXVIII Letters CCXIX Letters CCXX Letters CCXXI Letters CCXXII Letters CCXXIII Letters CCXXIV Letters CCXXV Letters CCXXVI Letters CCXXVII Letters CCXXVIII Letters CCXXIX Letters CCXXX Letters CCXXXI Letters CCXXXII Letters CCXXXIII Letters CCXXXIV Letters CCXXXV Letters CCXXXVI Letters CCXXXVII Letters CCXXXVIII Letters CCXXXIX Letters CCXL Letters CCXLI Letters CCXLII Letters CCXLIII Letters CCXLIV Letters CCXLV Letters CCXLVI Letters CCXLVII Letters CCXLVIII Letters CCXLIX Letters CCL Letters CCLI Letters CCLII Letters CCLIII Letters CCLIV Letters CCLV Letters CCLVI Letters CCLVII Letters CCLVIII Letters CCLIX Letters CCLX Letters CCLXI Letters CCLXII Letters CCLXIII Letters CCLXIV Letters CCLXV Letters CCLXVI Letters CCLXVII Letters CCLXVIII Letters CCLXIX Letters CCLXX Letters CCLXXI Letters CCLXXII Letters CCLXXIII Letters CCLXXIV Letters CCLXXV Letters CCLXXVI Letters CCLXXVII Letters CCLXXVIII Letters CCLXXIX Letters CCLXXX Letters CCLXXXI Letters CCLXXXII Letters CCLXXXIII Letters CCLXXXIV Letters CCLXXXV Letters CCLXXXVI Letters CCLXXXVII Letters CCLXXXVIII Letters CCLXXXIX Letters CCXC Letters CCXCI Letters CCXCII Letters CCXCIII Letters CCXCIV Letters CCXCV Letters CCXCVI Letters CCXCVII Letters CCXCVIII Letters CCXCIX Letters CCC Letters CCCI Letters CCCII Letters CCCIII Letters CCCIV Letters CCCV Letters CCCVI Letters CCCVII Letters CCCVIII Letters CCCIX Letters CCCX Letters CCCXI Letters CCCXII Letters CCCXIII Letters CCCXIV Letters CCCXV Letters CCCXVI Letters CCCXVII Letters CCCXVIII Letters CCCXIX Letters CCCXX Letters CCCXXI Letters CCCXXII Letters CCCXXIII Letters CCCXXIV Letters CCCXXV Letters CCCXXVI Letters CCCXXVII Letters CCCXXVIII Letters CCCXXIX Letters CCCXXX Letters CCCXXXI Letters CCCXXXII Letters CCCXXXIII Letters CCCXXXIV Letters CCCXXXV Letters CCCXXXVI Letters CCCXXXVII Letters CCCXXXVIII Letters CCCXXXIX Letters CCCXL Letters CCCXLI Letters CCCXLII Letters CCCXLIII Letters CCCXLIV Letters CCCXLV Letters CCCXLVI Letters CCCXLVII Letters CCCXLVIII Letters CCCXLIX Letters CCCL Letters CCCLI Letters CCCLII Letters CCCLIII Letters CCCLIV Letters CCCLV Letters CCCLVI Letters CCCLVII Letters CCCLVIII Letters CCCLIX Letters CCCLX Letters CCCLXI Letters CCCLXII Letters CCCLXIII Letters CCCLXIV Letters CCCLXV Letters CCCLXVI Letters CCCLXVII Letters CCCLXVIII Letters CCCLXIX Letters CCCLXX Letters CCCLXXI Letters CCCLXXII Letters CCCLXXIII Letters CCCLXXIV Letters CCCLXXV Letters CCCLXXVI Letters CCCLXXVII Letters CCCLXXVIII Letters CCCLXXIX Letters CCCLXXX Letters CCCLXXXI Letters CCCLXXXII Letters CCCLXXXIII Letters CCCLXXXIV Letters CCCLXXXV Letters CCCLXXXVI Letters CCCLXXXVII Letters CCCLXXXVIII Letters CCCLXXXIX Letters CCCXC Letters CCCXCI Letters CCCXCII Letters CCCXCIII Letters CCCXCIV Letters CCCXCV Letters CCCXCVI Letters CCCXCVII Letters CCCXCVIII Letters CCCXCIX Letters CD Letters CDI Letters CDII Letters CDIII Letters CDIV Letters CDV Letters CDVI Letters CDVII Letters CDVIII Letters CDIX Letters CDX Letters CDXI Letters CDXII Letters CDXIII Letters CDXIV Letters CDXV Letters CDXVI Letters CDXVII Letters CDXVIII Letters CDXIX Letters CDXX Letters CDXXI Letters CDXXII Letters CDXXIII Letters CDXXIV Letters CDXXV Letters CDXXVI Letters CDXXVII Letters CDXXVIII Auxillary and Supporting Documents Definitions of Some Commonly-Used A.A. Words How to use Worldcat to find books The Stock Prospectus for the 100 Men Corporation Works Publishing Financial Statement, June 1940. Original Big Book assignment of copyright to Works Publishing, Inc. document. Bill's 1941 Memo (PDF) about bringing more money into the A.A. headquarters. Cleveland, 1944: Clarence Snyder's objections GSC51 (pdf) == AA GS Conference report from 1950, where Bill Wilson helped himself to even more money. See a discussion of this document here. Bill Wilson's Last Will and Testament, leaving ten percent of his estate to his favorite mistress, Helen Wynn, and the other ninety percent to his wife Lois. Lois Wilson's Last Will and Testament, where the royalty money for all of Bill's books leaves the A.A. fellowship forever. Original Works Publishing Company name change document, page 1. Original Works Publishing Company name change document, page 2. Original Works Publishing Company name change document, page 3. Bill Wilson's royalty agreement of 1963 with A.A.W.S., Inc. Henry Parkhurst's handwritten outline for the Big Book (.pdf file) 1941 Letter Bill W. To Dr. Bob.jpg == Comment on this document here. 1941 Letter Bill W. To Dr. Bob 2.jpg == Comment on this document here. 1945 Bill W. to Gerig.jpg == Comment on this document here. Henrietta Seiberling's letter A letter from someone who knew him: Tom Powers, the co-author of Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions was a crazy scheming lying child-molesting con-man who never stopped drinking. What Is The Oxford Group? (PDF) by "The Layman with a Notebook" H. A. Ironside: The Oxford Group Movement: Is It Scriptural? H. A. Walter: Soul Surgery. A manual for the Oxford Group cult religion. I Was A Pagan, by Vic Kitchen. A manual for the Oxford Group cult religion. Leonard V. Harrison 1946 Statement, disagreeing with Bill Wilson about how A.A. should be organized Original 1940 A.A. Pamphlet by Larry J (pdf) First Alcoholic Foundation Pamphlet (pdf) Judge John T.: The "We Are The Chosen People" Idolatry The Common Sense of Drinking, by Richard R. Peabody. A 1930s look at drinking. Dr. Arthur H. Cain: First Harper's and Saturday Evening Post articles critical of A.A. The Nation on A.A.: "Alcoholics Anonymous, the Dangers of Success", 1964. Testimony of Chuck C. before a U.S. Senate subcommittee Bill Wilson's speech at Dr. Bob's Memorial Service Bill Wilson's testimony before the U.S. Senate, 1969. Tiebout: The Act of Surrender in the Therapeutic Process Tiebout: Direct Treatment of a Symptom Tiebout: The Ego Factors in Surrender in Alcoholism Tiebout: Surrender Versus Compliance In Therapy with Special Reference to Alcoholism Robert Warner's page, "How A.A. Steals Your Soul" A Cult Called AA by Paul Roasberry S.O.S. Europe's Description of a Cult Berkeley Revive's cult description Totalism in Today's Cults by Jan Groenvald Paul Diener on A.A., the Oxford Group and the British Fascists at Oxford in the 1930s Paul Diener's letters to the Addict-L mailing list. More inconsistencies: More of the propaganda trick of inconsistency A pamphlet by A.A. members, criticizing the leadership Unnamed AA2 Group File from the Midwest, pre-2005, A.A. propaganda about recovery 2011_Marcus_Chatfield.pdf, Marcus Chatfield's interview with William White about Straight, the child-abusing "rehab" program Grant of Authority: A.A. General Manager Greg Muth authorizing the German A.A. organization to sue A.A. members who were publishing their own translation of the old out-of-copyright first edition of the Big Book Spirituality versus Legalism in Alcoholics Anonymous, by Charlie Bishop, Jr. — About the lawsuits over expired and invalid copyrights A lawyer's opinion to Greg Muth, declaring that the 400 multilith (mimeograph) copies of the Big Book that Bill Wilson made and sold were not a problem to the copyright. Of course the lawyer maintained the fiction that the copies were all stamped "Loaner Copy", which they were not. Changing the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous, One Conference At A Time — a document complaining about how the A.A. headquarters has made unauthorized changes to A.A. Letter from Gordon M. Patrick, former Trustee Emeritus of the General Service Board, to Dr. Elaine McDowell, PhD Chair, General Service Board, requesting that his name be removed from all Alcoholics Anonymous literature because of spiritual shortcomings of A.A. Remaking A Man; One Successful Method Of Mental Refitting, by Courtnay Baylor of the Emmanuel Movement, Boston, 1919 (Note that Courtnay Baylor treated Rowland Hazard, who supposedly learned from Dr. Carl Jung that religious fanaticism was a cure for alcohol addiction.) The_Mathematics_of_Alcoholics_Anonymous_-_Part_1.pdf — Analysis of the mathematics of Alcoholics Anonymous, using A.A.'s own published documents The_Mathematics_of_Alcoholics_Anonymous_-_Part_2.pdf — Analysis of the mathematics of Alcoholics Anonymous, using A.A.'s own published documents A spreadsheet about the Foxhall Group's retention rate 1989_Membership_Survey_Form_Blank.pdf ; Size: 244 k 2007_Membership_Survey_Form_Blank.pdf ; Size: 58 k Commentary on the Triennial Surveys (from 1977 to 1989), A.A. internal document number 5M/12-90/TC Historymetaphor.pdf, by Peter Ferentzy and Nigel Turner, a history of the debate about whether problem gambling is literally a disease, or only metaphorically so. Much is also applicable to alcohol abuse and A.A. A magazine article from 1954: Alcoholics Anonymous: No Booze But Plenty of Babes 12 Steps To Nowhere by J. Timothy Hunt More Pseudo-Intellectual Bull: The_Cybernetics_of_Self by Gregory Bateson, and an analysis of it. A paper by the World Health Organization in Europe which states that both 12 Step facilitation and Alcoholics Anonymous are ineffective Here's an interesting study from Germany in 2007 that concluded that "The present study was unable to show an advantage of self-help group [AA] attendance in reducing relapses compared to the control group." THE IMPACT OF SELF-HELP GROUP ATTENDANCE ON RELAPSE RATES AFTER ALCOHOL DETOXIFICATION IN A CONTROLLED STUDY. http://alcalc.oxfordjournals.org/content/42/2/108.long Also see the discussion of it here: http://www.orange-papers.info/orange-letters406.html#Iamnotastatistic Report: The Scientology recovery hoax called "Narconon" doesn't work either. A.A. finances: A.A. finances for 2004 Response to above letter from former A.A. EDP manager: the A.A. headquarters is filing false financial reports with the IRS more discussion of finances Use Guidestar to investigate the General_Service_Board More on A.A. headquarters finances links to A.A. financial reports More on the A.A. finances International Cultic Studies Association Cult Checklist More humor: Do You Think Too Much? A 12-Step program for the dead. A letter to the editors of the WSWS about Frank Buchman's Fascist leanings An autobiography written for SOS A History of Agnostic Groups in Alcoholics Anonymous: Part 1 By Roger C Archive files now available: Get this entire web site in a set of compressed packages so that you can read it later offline (and burn CDs and give copies to friends). Archives are available in both Unix/Linux tarred-gzipped format, or Micro$uck Windoze winzip format. Current as of 2017-11-22 (yyyy-mm-dd). Update from orange-papers.info mirror maintainer: This file decompresses to approximately 2GB IF the two files below are excluded or deleted. You can extract it to a DVD and browse to index.html , or do as we have done and extract it directly to the root of /var/www/html . The current goal here is to disseminate this archive of the Orange Papers as widely as possible to anyone who wishes to preserve it. Please note that "orangepapers.tar.gz" and "orangepapers.zip" are NOT included inside of either archive. Download them separately and directly to /var/www/html (or your webserver's root directory) if you want to mirror the archives on your own server. Unix/Linux format archive orangepapers.tar.gz Windows format archive orangepapers.zip

Footnotes:

1) Michael has done a lot of research on that quote, and he found that it actually came from William Paley, not Herbert Spencer. See Michael's paper here:
Survival_of_a_Fitting_Quotation.pdf

Search the Orange Papers

Click Fruit for Menu

Acknowledgements:

Copyright 2016 asserted by A. Orange on orange-papers.org [Mirror on the Wayback Machine establishing asserted copyright]

Word is that Orange is okay, the person previously hosting the website passed away and arrangements were not made for continuity.

The maintainer of this mirror did not author any of its content and is a neutral historian of this comprehensive history of AA and a repository of information for skeptics, some of whom have found it to be helpful in their decision to leave 12-step groups. The maintainer of this content has no opinion on the content contained herein.