Hi, I'm James. I built Principles Before Personalities to read and mark up the Big Book the way you would a paper copy, without an account and without anything leaving your device. It's based on the first edition text (1939, with the 1941 printing's revisions), which is in the public domain in the United States, so it's free to share. It is not the current edition. The page numbers match the ones read in meetings, so "page 58" takes you to How It Works. What it does: five-color highlighter and eraser, marked pages, sticky notes, full-text search, and import of your own .txt/.md files. It works offline, and highlights and notes are saved only on your device. The downloads aren't from an app store, so macOS, Windows and Android will ask you to confirm the first time. The iPhone version is a web app you add to your Home Screen from Safari. It's an independent project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Feedback welcome, especially on the reading experience. Public domain in the United States only; copyright status in other countries may differ.

Principles Before Personalities

A free, offline reader for the 1939 Big Book

A free, offline reader for the 1939 Big Book