Page 11 - F-166 - A Brief History of the Big Book - Una breve historia del Libro Grande - L'histoire du Gros Livre en bref

of Quebec.

In 1952, an A.A. member from Quebec City named
Jacques (no record of his last name or initial), asked
and received permission to prepare the translation of

a shorter version of the Big Book, namely, the fi rst 11
chapters. Later, in 1959, the General Service Offi ce of
the province of Quebec created a Literature Commit-

tee, and Dave B., founder of A.A. in Quebec, wrote
to the offi ce in New York City to explain the obstacles
that had been encountered with regard to the transla-

tion of A.A. material into French.
The Literature Committee changed its name to Les

Editions Francaises A.A. (that is, A.A. French Editions)
in 1961 as it continued its work, and further progress
was made on the French translation of the Big Book.

A search for stories was undertaken by the would-be
publishers, reaching out to A.A. members in Quebec

and French-speaking European countries.
The fi rst unabridged edition of the French Big Book
contained 11 stories from the English-language book,

ending with Appendix II, “The Spiritual Experience.”
This part of the book was followed by eight stories from

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