9780062652522
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Sometimes Brilliant audiobook

  • By: Larry Brilliant
  • Narrator: Fred Sanders
  • Length: 12 hours 27 minutes
  • Publisher: HarperAudio
  • Publish date: October 11, 2016
  • Language: English
  • (363 ratings)
(363 ratings)
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Sometimes Brilliant Audiobook Summary

When a powerful mystic steps on the hand of a radical young hippie doctor from Detroit, it changes lives and the world. Sometimes Brilliant is the adventures of a philosopher, mystic, hippie, doctor, groundbreaking tech innovator, and key player in the eradication of one of the worst pandemics in human history. His story, of what happens when love, compassion and determination meet the right circumstances to effect positive change, is the kind that keeps hope and the sense of possibility alive.

After sitting at the feet of Martin Luther King at the University of Michigan in 1963, Larry Brilliant was swept up into the civil rights movement, marching and protesting across America and Europe. As a radical young doctor he followed the hippie trail from London over the Khyber Pass with his wife Girija, Wavy Gravy and the Hog Farm commune to India. There, he found himself in a Himalayan ashram wondering whether he had stumbled into a cult. Instead, one of India’s greatest spiritual teachers, Neem Karoli Baba, opened Larry’s heart and told him his destiny was to work for the World Health Organization to help eradicate killer smallpox. He would never have believed he would become a key player in eliminating a 10,000-year-old disease that killed more than half a billion people in the 20th century alone.

Brilliant’s unlikely trajectory, chronicled in Sometimes Brilliant, has brought him into close proximity with political leaders, spiritual masters, cultural heroes, and titans of technology around the world–from the Grateful Dead to Mikhail Gorbachev, from Ram Dass, the Dalai Lama, Lama Govinda, and Karmapa to Steve Jobs and the founders of Google, Salesforce, Facebook, Microsoft and eBay and Presidents Carter, Clinton, Bush and Obama. Anchored by the engrossing account of the heroic efforts of the extraordinary people involved in smallpox eradication in India, this is a riveting and fascinating epidemiological adventure, an honest reckoning of an entire generation, and a deeply moving spiritual memoir. It is a testament to faith, love, service, and what it means to engage with life’s most important questions in pursuit of a better, more brilliant existence.

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Sometimes Brilliant Audiobook Narrator

Fred Sanders is the narrator of Sometimes Brilliant audiobook that was written by Larry Brilliant

LARRY BRILLIANT, M.D., M.P.H., is a pioneering physician, visionary technologist, and global philanthropist. The first executive director of Google.org, he currently serves as chairman of Skoll Global Threats Fund. Larry co-founded the The Seva Foundation, whose programs and partners have restored sight to more than 4 million blind in dozens of countries. He has worked with four Presidents, the UN, G8 and Chaired the National Biosurveillance Advisory Subcommittee. He co-founded one of the first digital social networks, the Well. He and his wife Girija and their children live in Northern California.

About the Author(s) of Sometimes Brilliant

Larry Brilliant is the author of Sometimes Brilliant

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Sometimes Brilliant Full Details

Narrator Fred Sanders
Length 12 hours 27 minutes
Author Larry Brilliant
Publisher HarperAudio
Release date October 11, 2016
ISBN 9780062652522

Additional info

The publisher of the Sometimes Brilliant is HarperAudio. The imprint is HarperAudio. It is supplied by HarperAudio. The ISBN-13 is 9780062652522.

Global Availability

This book is only available in the United States.

Goodreads Reviews

Sharon

November 09, 2022

Prepare to be transported on an incredible journey!Larry Brilliant weaves a rich, memorable tapestry that combines spirituality, memoir, leadership lessons, the smallpox epidemic, international travel, and hallucinogens throughout the past four decades. Brilliant was a hippie who participated in non-violent protests regarding civil rights and the Vietnam War. He became a United Nations medical officer through dogged persistence and determination and was instrumental in eradicating smallpox in India. The challenging peaks and valleys of eradicating smallpox in the 1970s has many lessons and reminders about what the world just went through with the COVID pandemic. There are jurisdictional politics that have personal and professional complications rather than a focus on curing a disease. There are always issues with resources, data collection/accuracy/reporting, and the media. Throw in natural and man-made disasters as well.One of the most interesting aspects of the book is when Brilliant traces smallpox outbreaks to a train station that is located in the heart of one of the divisions of Tata, the largest Indian multinational company. The outbreaks occur because so many young men travel by train to seek employment. Through passion, grit, perseverance, and ingenuity, Brilliant and the executive leaders at Tata implement a mandatory quarantine and partner closely with Indira Gandhi to eliminate smallpox in India. When Brilliant returned to the US, he became a professor and then joined Google as the first executive director of Google.org. He also won a TED prize where he had to think of a wish to change the world---his wish was to create an early-warning system for pandemics.Brilliant quotes Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."Highly recommend for readers who love memoir, history, politics, health, spirituality, religion, leadership and business books.

Upanshu

August 22, 2020

Agreed Smallpox is no longer “the worst disease”, my motive of reading this book were many:1. Psychological peace that there would be a day when Corona would be finished too.2. Why was India among the last nations to eradicate smallpox? Was India not so advanced then, or political reasons?3. Lastly, how true was the story.After reading this book, I am even more proud of our doctors, civil and social workers. Although my religious beliefs are very different from Mr. Larry’s, I feel he was one of the chosen ones to be included in the WHO’s smallpox eradication team, that too without much experience. One more thing which I noticed, India was very weak politically to accept a widespread disease as a major concern at that time. However, I don’t feel the same now with the Corona pandemic and that’s a healthy sign for a developing nation. Plus the advancement in India’s technology takes it a notch further.Lastly, talking about the truth of the story. Me, being a grandson of one of the Smallpox warrior (my grandfather being Larry’s colleague and also mentioned in the book), I have heard stories about the situation at that time. I could feel what Mr. Larry felt about the dying children everytime I heard the same stories from my grand father and while reading this book. Tatanagar being the root cause of smallpox and Tata’s not knowing it was no shock to me. I don’t even blame them for it. The technology wasn’t that advanced at that time.I want to end this review by thanking Mr. Larry and his team mates for working so hard to eradicate a severe disease from India. P.S. - Want to thank my daddy ji too (Mr. R.K. Malhotra- my grandfather). After reading this book, I experienced your work and your situation at that time even more.

Rosemarie

August 17, 2021

Very inspirational, educational and certainly entertaining, especially the hippie era adventures. Free spirited and curious, Dr. Larry Brilliant and his wife are “called” on a mission to cure smallpox in India, the last bastion to have access to and acceptance of the vaccine. Such non-traditional paths and a peek inside WHO and it’s role in pandemics and epidemics especially in third world countries. So many parallels with what is going on in the world today. Reading has always been one of my primary forms of on screen entertainment and education. Reading books like this make me so grateful for the love of the book that my sweet Mama passed on to me. “Change starts with ordinary people doing extraordinary things. The path to the extraordinary is open to anybody at any time.” ― Larry Brilliant, Sometimes Brilliant: The Impossible Adventure of a Spiritual Seeker and Visionary Physician Who Helped Conquer the Worst Disease in History

Viji

September 20, 2016

Got to hear the author in person. Funny, Creative and Inspiring

Al

November 22, 2016

Sometimes Brilliant is the story of Larry Brilliant and his sometimes mystic, always interesting path as a hippie who fully embraced sex, drugs and rock and roll towards helping eradicate smallpox in India, which was the last bastion of this terrible disease that had killed and maimed hundreds of millions. He and his wife first arrived in India on a search for their own mystic and guru, who, upon finding him, in turn, encouraged Larry, now Dr. Brillant, to join WHO and enter this terrible battle. It took years, and thousands of dedicated staff fighting overwhelming logistical issues in abject poor India to conquer small pox.As the teams slowly made progress and finally celebrated the worldwide end to small pox, Larry and his wife maintained their gentle belief in God, doing and being good, and hard work in achieving something much larger than themselves.And while one may or may not agree with the '60s hippie philosophy, I found the story refreshing and moving in light of the author who managed who navigate those previously mentioned rocky sex, drugs and rock and roll shales and shoals and not only survived but kept his spirit, soul and sense of purpose alive and flourishing.May we all be so blessed.". . . leave room for God, leave room for love, and never, ever lose your sense of humor." Dr. Larry Brilliant

Quan

December 15, 2016

I haven't read a book which moved me like this since God's Hotel. Both books show the great gifts of medicine and healing and intelligence, especially when the healers are humble and curious and engaged and passionate. This is what I went into Medicine for.Larry Brilliant's story shows how everything in his life prepared him to be a leader in the fight against smallpox. He could have stopped at any juncture: Doctor, hippy, devotee. But his capacities were always being expanded, he went on. And on, and on.The book tells a powerful, sometimes rollicking tale of global public health. It's beautifully written and Larry keeps learning to keep his own ego in check, blessed by the support of Neem Karoli Baba. And his story emphasizes relationships, of the critical importance of working together to solve problems.For me, an old Med school classmate, it was a no-brained to read the book. Now I'd recommend it to anyone and everyone. Bravo Larry!

Meg

April 30, 2018

No one paints a better picture of the strife and heartache caused by the smallpox epidemic in India (of which at the time I was unaware, being a teenager with way more on my mind than worldly affairs) than Dr. Brilliant. His journey to that point and beyond is fascinating and astounding, and the way he questions himself (and God) throughout is raw, open, and heartfelt with perfect touches of humor.This is one of those books that when you're finished you ask yourself, "How can this be topped?"

W.

April 03, 2017

SOMETIMES BRILLIANT is a play on the last name of Dr. Larry Brilliant. This memoir contains a fascinating story about the eradication of small pox in India along with fascinating stories about sharing a bed with the Dalai Lama, crossing paths with personalities as diverse as Steve Jobs and Mikhail Gorbachev. I listened to the audio version of this book and heard it cover to cover. I recommend it.

Matty

February 03, 2017

An inspiring book about finding oneself and then applying what you've found to do immeasurable good for the world. With a load of humor and the benefit of it all being true. An incredible life lived and an incredible read. I've been fortunate enough to hear some of these stories in person but reading the entire thing front to back was even better. Read it!

Pat

June 09, 2020

Really interesting... This guy's journey to eradicate smallpox was fascinating. Good reminder to: Just. Keep. Going.

Nazrul

November 18, 2018

The book is said to be one of the best autobiographies on Goodreads, and is highly rated across many sites, which piqued my interest. Plus, after reading the synopsis about his accomplishment of eradicating smallpox - one of the deadliest diseases in the history of mankind - I become so eager to read about him that I decided to buy a copy on Book Depository on a whim.'Sometimes Brilliant' tells the incredible story of a young doctor from Ann Arbor, Michigan - brought up in a Russian immigrant family - who had his first run-in with the world of medicine through the tragic death of his father who succumbed to cancer, which eventually spurred him into becoming a doctor. Brought up in the tumultuous 1960s, in a time when the United States was divided over the Vietnam war, racial injustices and social upheaval, Brilliant was an aspiring doctor who was bitten by the social conscience bug, enamored by the anti-war movement and the hippie counterculture sweeping the country that brought him across Europe and Asia. It's in this phase of life when he crossed paths with spiritual gurus and ultimately smallpox, the disease that changed the course of his life forever.Brilliant's story is, in one word, extraordinary. Like the story of Forrest Gump, his is an introspective journey of serendipitous events that determined the course of his life, and he found his calling in the far reaches of villages in India, which was the last breeding ground for smallpox, a virus that has ravaged humanity for centuries were killing numerous impoverished children, which cause Brilliant to wake up and answer to his duty as a doctor.The Book is not just a factual account of a doctor's quest to eradicate smallpox. As the title suggests, it's an adventurous tale of a man who ventured into the spiritual world in search of transcendence, and left at the advice of a mystical sage to help mankind to join the World Health Organization and eliminate suffering of the poor. Brilliant thoroughly describes the uphill challenges that he had to overcome, from the expected ones such as India's sheer lack of resources, to unexpected ones such as the locals' perceived divinity towards smallpox; as well as the emotional trials and tribulations he has to overcome personally.To call Brilliant's life story interesting is a gross understatement; it's an inspiration to hear how he became the one to fulfill a seemingly impossible mission and make one of the greatest achievements in modern health policy. It's a empathetic story not just about epidemiology and anthropology, but also of destiny and perseverance, one that seems to defy human comprehension and illustrate how petty our personal desires may seem in the grander scheme of things. Larry Brilliant is just an amazing individual, or as how he might prefer, an ordinary individual who achieved something extraordinary. Bravo Brilliant; the achievement by you and your colleagues in the 1970s in ridding the world of smallpox was a true service to humanity, and your humility towards all of it is utterly admirable. One of the best nonfictions/biographies I've ever read and owned!

Polly

May 20, 2018

I love memoir. I love reading about the history and progress of medicine. I love reading about other seekers' spiritual journeys. And I believe I was born about a dozen years too late; I have all the makings of a hippie, but for the timing of my birth. These four ingredients converged for me in Larry Brilliant's memoir. He was a true hippie (but straight-laced enough to have finished medical school), in that he was caught up in the passionate current of civil rights and other forms of activism of the 1960s, AND he lived in India and followed a guru. Many of you may have heard of Larry's guru, Neem Karoli Baba, aka Maharaji, by way of one of his other devoted American students Richard Alpert, aka Ram Dass. Long before 'mindfulness' became a catchphrase, Dass wrote "Be Here Now," the spiritual guide for his generation. Maharaji predicted that Larry Brilliant would work for the World Health Organization and help eradicate smallpox from India, where it was raging during the early 1970s. This predication, while coming from a spiritual leader who had ways of ‘seeing’ that others did not, was improbable. Maharaji’s ‘Brilliant’ young disciple was an inexperienced doctor wearing his hair and beard long and dressed in a white kurta. Furthermore, he had no epidemiological experience. The Brilliant unfolding of this implausible story will make the reader believe in a higher order of the Universe. I suggest you put on your hippie-medical-spiritual hat and enjoy the ride.My husband is tired of hearing me exclaim, “I love this book!” periodically throughout my reading. So, please excuse me while I finish reading the epilogue so I can hand it over to him.

Shubrashankh

December 05, 2020

This book was with me as an audiobook for a while and I was on and off listening to this while simultaneously moving to other interesting listens that came my way. After finishing this book I wish I would have listened to this anecdotal life story of Larry Brilliant and his endeavor to eliminate smallpox without any distractions. This is a book that starts really slow but grows on you. The book is like some haunting music that stays with you for a while after you have finished listening to it. Having listened to this while we are still in the middle of the COVID-19 global pandemic I could just imagine how some of the core principles of any pandemic are true across decades. It all boils down to the true belief of people on the front lines and their attempt to fight social prejudices, geographic isolation, and government bureaucracy while trying to solve one of the biggest problems which humans have ever faced. What makes this book really special is its ability to showcase the journey of a spiritual seeker and his conversation with himself while he comes across some of the most horrific scenes and situations of spiritual crisis which would make any man give up his believes and run towards nihilism. The book taught me that it does not matter what you believe in across religious, spiritual, and political space .what actually matters is if you are able to take yourself out of those believes and thoughts to fulfill what is needed at times of uncertainty. Life is not as simple as it seems but it's not as complicated as we imagine.

E

March 18, 2019

My daughter gave this book to me for my Birthday a year ago. She asked if I had ever heard of Larry Brilliant. I knew he had been a muckety-muck at Google, Inc. back in the early internet days, but little else. Dr. Brilliant was a young Hippie doctor in the late 1960's. He did things such as volunteer as a doctor for the Indian Revolutionaries who took over Alcatraz; he became lifetime friends with the iconic Wavy Gravy and was doctor to a caravan of dirty hippies traveling across the country and then Europe and India. In India he and his wife went separate ways for a period of time. When they reunited back in the States, she convinced the Doctor to come meet the Maharaji He fell under the "spell" of the Maharaji and became a supplicant, totally "going native" in India. After some time (and an interesting story about Wavy Gravy interrupting another Indian Spiritual leader's talk and arguing with him about the balance between "spiritual purity" and "good works") the Maharaji commands Brilliant to go to the WHO Headquarters, and get a job on the smallpox eradication team. Most of the book is about the fight against smallpox in India in the early 1970's and is quite interesting. I'll not give any spoilers, but the story is pretty incredible. Recommend to anyone.

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