Alcoholics Anonymous: The Big Book - Original 1939 Edition by William G. Wilson. Published by Tarcher Perigee, 2019. Hardcover 368 pages ISBN:9780486834177 Language: English. Alcoholics Anonymous: The Big Book - Original 1939 Edition by William G. Wilson. Published by Tarcher Perigee in 2019. Hardcover 368 pages ISBN:9780486834177. The Big Book has gone through numerous editions and remains the most widely used resource for recovering alcoholics. Only this original 1939 edition includes all 29 stories of the program's pioneers, which share the details of their full journey, including initial recovery, sometimes followed by relapse and eventual success. This edition also features the key to the solution claimed by Bill Wilson: a vital spiritual experience that allows followers to discover or rediscover God. This realistic portrayal of the program as offered by its founders has been lost in subsequent editions of the work, and is presented here to serve as a reminder that success comes in many forms.