About Dick B.
Dick B. is an active, recovered member of Alcoholics Anonymous; a retired attorney; and a Bible student. He has sponsored 100 men in their recovery from alcoholism. Consistent with A.A.’s traditions of anonymity, he uses the pseudonym “Dick B.”
Dick is the father of two married sons (Ken and Don) and a grandfather. As a young man, he did a stint as a newspaper reporter. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he received his A.A. degree in economics with honors, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in his Junior year. In the United States Army, he was an Information Education Specialist. He received his A.B. and J.D. degrees from Stanford University, and was Case Editor of the Stanford Law Review. Dick became interested in Bible study in his childhood Sunday School and was much inspired by his mother’s almost daily study of Scripture. He joined, and later became president of, a Community Church affiliated with the United Church of Christ. By 1972, he was studying the origins of the Bible and began traveling abroad in pursuit of that subject. In 1979, he became much involved in a Biblical research, teaching, and fellowship ministry. In his community life, he was president of a merchants’ council, Chamber of Commerce, church retirement center, and homeowners’ association. He served on a public district board and was active in a service club.
In 1986, he was felled by alcoholism, gave up his law practice, and began recovery as a member of the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. In 1990, his interest in A.A.’s Biblical/Christian roots was sparked by his attendance at A.A.’s International Convention in Seattle. Since then, he has traveled widely; researched at archives, and at public and seminary libraries; interviewed scholars, historians, clergy, A.A. “old_timers” and survivors; and participated in conferences, programs, panels, and seminars on early A.A.’s spiritual history.
Dick B.’s body of work on the history and successes of early Alcoholics Anonymous includes seminars, books, articles, radio interviews, videos, audio cassettes tapes, and newspaper articles. They show how the basic, and highly successful, biblical ideas used by early AAs can be valuable tools for success in today’s A.A. Also, the religious and recovery communities are using his research and titles to work more effectively with alcoholics, addicts, and others involved in Twelve Step programs.
Dick B. has published 25 titles and over 60 articles. These have been discussed in newspaper articles and reviewed in Library Journal, Bookstore Journal, For A Change, The Living Church, Faith at Work, Sober Times, Episcopal Life, Recovery News, Ohioana Quarterly, The PHOENIX, MRA Newsletter, and the Saint Louis University Theology Digest.
Dick now, and usually, has several works in progress. Much of his research and writing is done in collaboration with his older son, Ken, who holds B.A., B.Th., and M.A. degrees. Ken has been a lecturer in New Testament Greek at a Bible college and a lecturer in Fundamentals of Oral Communication at San Francisco State University. Ken is a computer specialist.
Dick is a member of the American Historical Association, Organization of American Historians, Coalition of Prison Evangelists, Alcohol and Drugs History Society, Research Society on Alcoholism, Association for Medical and Educational Research on Substance Abuse, Christian Assn for Psychological Studies, and Phi Beta Kappa.