Rating:  -
Last Lecture is a grand story of a mans life, who he is , where he came from and his journey down the river of life. It has the feel and glory of Huck Fin, a story told with an open heart and an honest soul.
When Randy Pausch is diagnosed with terminal cancer he had the desire to leave something of great value to his family. It would need to be something timeless and have the ability to provide a well spring for the love he would be unable to give in person. It would need to convey the important lessons he felt his children would have learned were he able to live a normal lifespan.
Randy Pausch gathered the moments in his life that he felt were self defining moments, the times when a persons eyes are opened to the truly important things that need to become a priority and thereby guide them towards becoming better people. They are the moments when the blinders come off and one realizes that there are really only a few things that give value to life. Material things become "just" material things. Family, love, encouragement, honesty and a childlike sense of fascination flow with a vitality that ignites the pages with life and the very real promise of eternal hope.
Rating:  -
The last lecture outlines the story and life philosophy behind Professor Randy Pausch, who died of pancreatic cancer and whose legacy is a speech he gave before he died that became an internet sensation.
Randy was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and a man who lived many of his childhood dreams. He chose to put his thoughts into a book and a speech so that he could leave something behind for his children. His words will not leave you disappointed, and his attitude is inspiring.
The full scope of the book is filled with good humor, an unexpected positive viewpoint even on his last days, and an overwhelming amount of tremendously profound and qualified advice. This book is short and enjoyable from cover to cover and one I recommend to any avid reader.
Rating: -
Since it was written by a dying man intent upon leaving something meaningful from himself to his children. He did that beautifully in his lecture.
Randy Pausch was lots of fun, smart, and thoughtful. But he isn't a great writer, and his book, while full of wonderful stories and insights, was not particularly well written. That said, it is delightful, and will surely impart wisdom to those who read it, and reinforce the importance of placing priorities on how we spend our limited time.
Rating: -
Anyone who has watched and loved Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture" on video owes themselves the chance to read his marvelous book. In it, Pausch not only gives his last lecture in book form but also a view of the way the book was conceived, developed and delivered. Pausch, as many now know, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given a few months to love. He decided to use that time leaving a testament for his three small children who would not have their dad to grow up with. Pausch's lecture was developed around the theme of how to make your dreams come true. It is packed with his own story of fulfilling his own dreams -- from becoming a Disney imagineer (via a sabbatical from teaching) and an astronaut (by finding and exploiting a loophole in his class's tour aboard NASA's "Vomit Comet") to starring on Star Trek. Pausch is energetic and irrepressible, never taking no for an answer. To him, brick walls are not obstacles but challenges to prove who most wants to conquer them. He is optimistic and unstoppable, almost annoyingly so. And he has the computer scientist's black-and-white view of the world. But his insights are neither maudlin nor trite, often counterintuitive, but always worth thinking about. After his wife dings his car, she is afraid he'll be upset at the cost of the repair. Instead, he chooses to ignore the car's status value and drives it with the dings.
Pausch sometimes seems arrogant, brusque and overfly breezy, but his life is a testament to the truth of optimism, creativity and doggedness, qualities others often have in short supply. Though he has gone on, his boundless spirit and energy live on in this book.
Rating: -
My 40 year-old brother-in-law was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and this book was so helpful and inspiring. The sense of humor and the incredible positive attitude by Randy was amazing. I had to then watch the actual Last Lecture on line after reading this book. I would have liked to learn more about how he handled every day knowing that he was dying, but they do address that at the end and it was very helpful.
|