Perhaps we should remember the time period that the book was written.
Because, unless I'm really wrong here, AA was the first "program" to help the alcoholic. So, that last statement Abbadun posted would have been correct - AT THE TIME - for those who did indeed get sober, no?
I do agree it's not so today. But, as an historian, it's important, to me anyway, to keep things in their time. We cannot change yesterday's truths just because they are no longer true today, ya know?
As and example, I'm thinking this will serve.
Once, we couldn't fly to the moon. Today we can.
Once people couldn't get clean and sober without AA. Today, they can.
Does that make sense?
Just don't take the book's content out of it's time period is my real point here.
Shalom!