Sam Shoemaker - The History of Early Alcoholics Anonymous at Charlotte, NC June 17, 1962.

This talk by Sam Shoemaker begins with a brief history of AA told by Sam.

It contains some things which only Rev. Sam Shoemaker could tell correctly.

Sam was the preeminent Oxford Group leader in the US at the time Bill Wilson and Ebby T. were affiliated with it.

The mission that Ebby was livening and working at during his pivotal meetings with Bill around the time Bill sobered for life was a branch of Sam's church.

Roland Hazard, who had helped Ebby in the Oxford Group principles, was a Vestryman at Sam's church for a considerable period of time.

Sam was very well acquainted with Roland Hazard.

Sam was a close personal friend of Bill Wilson.

He also was acquainted with the book Varieties of Religious Experience by William James.

In this talk, he tells what it was about that book, which was very relevant to Bill and influential in his getting sober.

He talks about Dr. Carl Jung, Roland Hazard, Ebby, the Oxford Group, Bill Wilson, and AA from his own perspective.

His account is very valuable because he knew these people (except Dr. Jung) and was actively involved in their lives around the periods he refers to.

He was an eyewitness to much of AAs earliest history.

The rest of the talk is Sam's Christian Gospel and Anti Communist message.

This was originally recorded in 1962, and Sam was an outspoken foe of communism.

This part of the talk does give a sense of the times and an insight into just how challenging a figure Sam was.

He obviously got behind things and pushed hard.

It's easy to see how he challenged Bill to do all the things spiritually necessary in early recovery.

Bill is quoted in his biography Pass It On as saying that he owed the Oxford Group a great debt of gratitude. "They saved my life."

Sam was Bill's Oxford Group mentor.