US of AA: How the Twelve Steps Hijacked the Science of Alcoholism (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781613739273)

In the aftermath of Prohibition, America's top scientists joined forces with AA members and put their clout behind a campaign to convince the nation that alcoholism is a disease. They had no proof, but they hoped to find it once research money came pouring in. The campaign spanned decades, and from it grew a multimillion-dollar treatment industry and a new government agency devoted to alcoholism.
But scientists' research showed that problem drinking is not a singular disease but a complex phenomenon requiring an array of strategies. There's less scientific evidence for the effectiveness of AA than there is for most other treatments, including self-enforced moderation, therapy and counseling, and targeted medications; AA's own surveys show that it doesn't work for the overwhelming majority of problem drinkers.
Five years in the making, Joe Miller's brilliant, in-depth investigative reporting into the history, politics, and science of alcoholism shows exactly how AA became our nation's de facto treatment policy, even as evidence accumulated for more effective remedies--and how, as a result, those who suffer the most often go untreated. US of AA is a character-driven, beautifully written exposé, full of secrecy, irony, liquor industry money, the shrillest of scare tactics, and, at its center, a grand deception. In the tradition of Crazy by Pete Earley and David Goldhill's Catastrophic Care, US of AA shines a much-needed spotlight on the addiction treatment industry. It will forever change the way we think about the entire enterprise.


Author: Joe Miller
ISBN-10: 1613739273
ISBN-13: 9781613739273
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Language: English
Published: 04/02/2019
Pages: 208
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.20w x 1.00d