diff --git a/Makefile.in b/Makefile.in
index be0b4188..3933fb9a 100644
--- a/Makefile.in
+++ b/Makefile.in
@@ -137,7 +137,8 @@ RECURSIVE_TARGETS = info-recursive dvi-recursive pdf-recursive \
 	installdirs-recursive install-recursive uninstall-recursive \
 	check-recursive installcheck-recursive
 DIST_COMMON = README AUTHORS COPYING ChangeLog INSTALL Makefile.am \
-	Makefile.in NEWS THANKS TODO aclocal.m4 configure configure.ac
+	Makefile.in NEWS README-alpha THANKS TODO aclocal.m4 configure \
+	configure.ac
 DIST_SUBDIRS = $(SUBDIRS)
 all: all-recursive
 
diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index d31b2701..5cfae623 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-* Major changes in Autoconf 2.54                       -*- outline -*-
+* Major changes in Autoconf 2.54a                       -*- outline -*-
+
+* Major changes in Autoconf 2.54
 
   Released September 13th, 2002.
 
@@ -97,7 +99,7 @@
 
 * Major changes in Autoconf 2.53
 
-  Released Mars 8th, 2002.
+  Released March 8th, 2002.
 
 ** Requirements
 
@@ -518,6 +520,8 @@ Major changes in Autoconf 2.14:
 
 Major changes in Autoconf 2.13:
 
+  Released May 1st, 1999, by Ben Elliston
+
 * Support for building on Win32 systems where the only available C or
   C++ compiler is the Microsoft Visual C++ command line compiler
   (`cl').  Additional support for building on Win32 systems which are
@@ -549,6 +553,8 @@ Major changes in Autoconf 2.13:
 
 Major changes in Autoconf 2.12:
 
+  Released November 26th, 1996, by David J. MacKenzie
+
 * AC_OUTPUT and AC_CONFIG_HEADER can create output files by
   concatenating multiple input files separated by colons, like so:
   AC_CONFIG_HEADER(config.h:conf.pre:config.h.in:conf.post)
@@ -560,6 +566,8 @@ Major changes in Autoconf 2.12:
 
 Major changes in Autoconf 2.11:
 
+  Released November 18th, 1996, by David J. MacKenzie
+
 * AC_PROG_CC and AC_PROG_CXX check whether the compiler works.
   They also default CFLAGS/CXXFLAGS to "-g -O2" for gcc, instead of "-g -O".
 * AC_REPLACE_FUNCS defines HAVE_foo if the system has the function `foo'.
@@ -573,16 +581,40 @@ Major changes in Autoconf 2.11:
 
 Major changes in Autoconf 2.10:
 
+  Released May 7th, 1996, by Roland McGrath
+
 * Bug fixes.
 * The cache variable names used by `AC_CHECK_LIB(LIB, FUNC, ...)' has
   changed: now $ac_cv_lib_LIB_FUNC, previously $ac_cv_lib_LIB.
 
-Major changes in Autoconfs 2.6 through 2.9:
+Major changes in Autoconf 2.9:
+
+  Released March 16th, 1996, by Roland McGrath
+
+* Bug fixes.
+
+Major changes in Autoconf 2.8:
+
+  Released March 8th, 1996, by Roland McGrath
+
+* Bug fixes.
+
+Major changes in Autoconf 2.7:
+
+  Released November 22nd, 1995, by David J. MacKenzie
+
+* Bug fixes.
+
+Major changes in Autoconf 2.6:
+
+  Released November 20th, 1995, by David J. MacKenzie
 
 * Bug fixes.
 
 Major changes in Autoconf 2.5:
 
+  Released November 17th, 1995, by Roland McGrath
+
 * New configure options --bindir, --libdir, --datadir, etc., with
   corresponding output variables.
 * New macro: AC_CACHE_CHECK, to make using the cache easier.
@@ -595,16 +627,22 @@ Major changes in Autoconf 2.5:
 
 Major changes in Autoconf 2.4:
 
+  Released June 14th, 1995, by David J. MacKenzie
+
 * Fix a few bugs found by Emacs testers.
 
 Major changes in Autoconf 2.3:
 
+  Released March 27th, 1995, by David J. MacKenzie
+
 * Fix the cleanup trap in several ways.
 * Handle C compilers that are picky about option placement.
 * ifnames gets the version number from the right directory.
 
 Major changes in Autoconf 2.2:
 
+  Released March 8th, 1995, by David J. MacKenzie
+
 * The ifnames utility is much faster but requires a "new awk" interpreter.
 * AC_CHECK_LIB and AC_HAVE_LIBRARY check and add the new
   library before existing libs, not after, in case it uses them.
@@ -614,6 +652,8 @@ Major changes in Autoconf 2.2:
 
 Major changes in Autoconf 2.1:
 
+  Released November 4th, 1994, by David J. MacKenzie
+
 * Fix C++ problems.
 * More explanations in the manual.
 * Fix a spurious failure in the testsuite.
@@ -640,6 +680,8 @@ inefficiently in GNU m4 releases before 1.3.
 
 Major changes in Autoconf 2.0:
 
+  Released October 26th, 1994, by David J. MacKenzie
+
 ** New copyright terms:
 * There are no restrictions on distribution or use of configure scripts.
 
diff --git a/configure b/configure
index b949089b..7f6baa4a 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #! /bin/sh
 # Guess values for system-dependent variables and create Makefiles.
-# Generated by GNU Autoconf 2.54 for GNU Autoconf 2.54.
+# Generated by GNU Autoconf 2.54 for GNU Autoconf 2.54a.
 #
 # Report bugs to <bug-autoconf@gnu.org>.
 #
@@ -265,8 +265,8 @@ SHELL=${CONFIG_SHELL-/bin/sh}
 # Identity of this package.
 PACKAGE_NAME='GNU Autoconf'
 PACKAGE_TARNAME='autoconf'
-PACKAGE_VERSION='2.54'
-PACKAGE_STRING='GNU Autoconf 2.54'
+PACKAGE_VERSION='2.54a'
+PACKAGE_STRING='GNU Autoconf 2.54a'
 PACKAGE_BUGREPORT='bug-autoconf@gnu.org'
 
 ac_unique_file="ChangeLog"
@@ -719,7 +719,7 @@ if test "$ac_init_help" = "long"; then
   # Omit some internal or obsolete options to make the list less imposing.
   # This message is too long to be a string in the A/UX 3.1 sh.
   cat <<_ACEOF
-\`configure' configures GNU Autoconf 2.54 to adapt to many kinds of systems.
+\`configure' configures GNU Autoconf 2.54a to adapt to many kinds of systems.
 
 Usage: $0 [OPTION]... [VAR=VALUE]...
 
@@ -781,7 +781,7 @@ fi
 
 if test -n "$ac_init_help"; then
   case $ac_init_help in
-     short | recursive ) echo "Configuration of GNU Autoconf 2.54:";;
+     short | recursive ) echo "Configuration of GNU Autoconf 2.54a:";;
    esac
   cat <<\_ACEOF
 
@@ -853,7 +853,7 @@ fi
 test -n "$ac_init_help" && exit 0
 if $ac_init_version; then
   cat <<\_ACEOF
-GNU Autoconf configure 2.54
+GNU Autoconf configure 2.54a
 generated by GNU Autoconf 2.54
 
 Copyright 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
@@ -868,7 +868,7 @@ cat >&5 <<_ACEOF
 This file contains any messages produced by compilers while
 running configure, to aid debugging if configure makes a mistake.
 
-It was created by GNU Autoconf $as_me 2.54, which was
+It was created by GNU Autoconf $as_me 2.54a, which was
 generated by GNU Autoconf 2.54.  Invocation command line was
 
   $ $0 $@
@@ -1443,7 +1443,7 @@ fi
 
 # Define the identity of the package.
  PACKAGE=autoconf
- VERSION=2.54
+ VERSION=2.54a
 
 
 cat >>confdefs.h <<_ACEOF
@@ -2286,7 +2286,7 @@ _ASBOX
 } >&5
 cat >&5 <<_CSEOF
 
-This file was extended by GNU Autoconf $as_me 2.54, which was
+This file was extended by GNU Autoconf $as_me 2.54a, which was
 generated by GNU Autoconf 2.54.  Invocation command line was
 
   CONFIG_FILES    = $CONFIG_FILES
@@ -2343,7 +2343,7 @@ _ACEOF
 
 cat >>$CONFIG_STATUS <<_ACEOF
 ac_cs_version="\\
-GNU Autoconf config.status 2.54
+GNU Autoconf config.status 2.54a
 configured by $0, generated by GNU Autoconf 2.54,
   with options \\"`echo "$ac_configure_args" | sed 's/[\\""\`\$]/\\\\&/g'`\\"
 
@@ -2884,4 +2884,14 @@ if test "$no_create" != yes; then
 fi
 
 # Report the state of this version of Autoconf if this is a beta.
+    cat <<EOF
+
+You are about to use an experimental version of Autoconf.  Be sure to
+read the relevant mailing lists, most importantly <autoconf@gnu.org>.
+
+Below you will find information on the status of this version of Autoconf.
+
+
+EOF
+    sed -n '/^\* Status/,$p' $srcdir/BUGS
 
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 615db4f8..1c5b4949 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -20,9 +20,9 @@
 # 02111-1307, USA.
 
 # We need AC_CONFIG_TESTDIR.
-AC_PREREQ([2.53])
+AC_PREREQ([2.54])
 
-AC_INIT([GNU Autoconf], [2.54], [bug-autoconf@gnu.org])
+AC_INIT([GNU Autoconf], [2.54a], [bug-autoconf@gnu.org])
 AC_SUBST([PACKAGE_NAME])dnl
 AC_CONFIG_SRCDIR([ChangeLog])
 
diff --git a/man/autoconf.1 b/man/autoconf.1
index 518c61f9..268ded35 100644
--- a/man/autoconf.1
+++ b/man/autoconf.1
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 .\" DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE!  It was generated by help2man 1.29.
-.TH AUTOCONF "1" "September 2002" "autoconf 2.54" "User Commands"
+.TH AUTOCONF "1" "September 2002" "autoconf 2.54a" "User Commands"
 .SH NAME
 autoconf \- Generate configuration scripts
 .SH SYNOPSIS
diff --git a/man/autoheader.1 b/man/autoheader.1
index 4e019edb..756e46e8 100644
--- a/man/autoheader.1
+++ b/man/autoheader.1
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 .\" DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE!  It was generated by help2man 1.29.
-.TH AUTOHEADER "1" "September 2002" "autoheader 2.54" "User Commands"
+.TH AUTOHEADER "1" "September 2002" "autoheader 2.54a" "User Commands"
 .SH NAME
 autoheader \- Create a template header for configure
 .SH SYNOPSIS
diff --git a/man/autom4te.1 b/man/autom4te.1
index e2888088..2e3da876 100644
--- a/man/autom4te.1
+++ b/man/autom4te.1
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 .\" DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE!  It was generated by help2man 1.29.
-.TH AUTOM4TE "1" "September 2002" "autom4te 2.54" "User Commands"
+.TH AUTOM4TE "1" "September 2002" "autom4te 2.54a" "User Commands"
 .SH NAME
 autom4te \- Generate files and scripts thanks to M4
 .SH SYNOPSIS
diff --git a/man/autoreconf.1 b/man/autoreconf.1
index 78e0199a..b2ed1a7c 100644
--- a/man/autoreconf.1
+++ b/man/autoreconf.1
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 .\" DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE!  It was generated by help2man 1.29.
-.TH AUTORECONF "1" "September 2002" "autoreconf 2.54" "User Commands"
+.TH AUTORECONF "1" "September 2002" "autoreconf 2.54a" "User Commands"
 .SH NAME
 autoreconf \- Update generated configuration files
 .SH SYNOPSIS
diff --git a/man/autoscan.1 b/man/autoscan.1
index aef4c8ee..412882f4 100644
--- a/man/autoscan.1
+++ b/man/autoscan.1
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 .\" DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE!  It was generated by help2man 1.29.
-.TH AUTOSCAN "1" "September 2002" "autoscan 2.54" "User Commands"
+.TH AUTOSCAN "1" "September 2002" "autoscan 2.54a" "User Commands"
 .SH NAME
 autoscan \- Generate a preliminary configure.in
 .SH SYNOPSIS
diff --git a/man/autoupdate.1 b/man/autoupdate.1
index 62fa29cf..e48aec7e 100644
--- a/man/autoupdate.1
+++ b/man/autoupdate.1
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 .\" DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE!  It was generated by help2man 1.29.
-.TH AUTOUPDATE "1" "September 2002" "autoupdate 2.54" "User Commands"
+.TH AUTOUPDATE "1" "September 2002" "autoupdate 2.54a" "User Commands"
 .SH NAME
 autoupdate \- Update a configure.in to a newer Autoconf
 .SH SYNOPSIS
diff --git a/man/ifnames.1 b/man/ifnames.1
index 480798f1..f3fe08a7 100644
--- a/man/ifnames.1
+++ b/man/ifnames.1
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
 .SH "REPORTING BUGS"
 Report bugs to <bug-autoconf@gnu.org>.
 .PP
-ifnames (GNU Autoconf) 2.54
+ifnames (GNU Autoconf) 2.54a
 .SH "SEE ALSO"
 .BR autoconf (1),
 .BR automake (1),