Editorial Review:
"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."
--Randy Pausch A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy? When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living. In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.
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Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: 
The last lecture  2008-07-03
I read this in 2 days, it is really good. He has done an excellent self review of what values are important to have in personal success. The first 128 pages are a summary and explanation of his excellent lecture online plus further insights. The last pages 129-198 are about "how to live your life" and can be reread and enjoyed many times over. Wonderful insights to personal happiness and good parenting. Great book, keeper for the personal bookshelf. KMRN
Great gift item! 2008-07-03
This is a great book. I've purchased four to give as gifts and one for myself. I've highlighted my own. Great story of a man and the way he chooses to face his death.
Great advise on life 2008-07-02
Very moving and insightful with excellent advice for young people and how we should live our lives.
Evern though he is dying, he doesn't dwell on his condition. He focuses on life and uses examples from his life in giving advice on living a good life.
Interesting to compare to similar books  2008-07-02
Randy (the author) is to be commended for his energy, drive, and passion for living. His thoughts and advice should be beneficial to anyone seeking to life a better life or to those who like Randy face the unfathomable difficulty of a terminal disease.
Randy's focus on achieving childhood dreams is a great premise for the book and should inspire all of us to (1) identify or reacquaint ourselves with our childhood dreams and (2) live to achieve those dreams.
It is very interesting to compare Randy's philosophy and his approach to the time remaining in his life to the philosophy and approach of someone in a very similar situation but very different background.
A few years ago, I read Chasing Daylight by Gene O'Kelly. Gene was CEO of one of the largest companies in the world when he was diagnosed with his terminal disease (and still at a relatively young age) that would claim his life soon after the diagnosis.
Comparing the philosophy these two men (Gene and Randy) took in approaching the time they knew they had left was very insightful.
Randy comes from the world of academia, very logical, with attention very much centered on the teacher/professor who lectures in front students. Gene's background was in business, more specifically, the corporate world and had achieved top leadership in KPMG on of the leading accounting firms in the world.
Randy's approach focused heavily on leaving a legacy for others and for his children. Much of his book describes preparing for his last lecture and the content that was covered in his lecture.
Gene, among other things, decided to have a "Perfect Moment" (a moment of conversation, reflection, or parting) with each of his friends and family. A "Perfect Moment" was different for each, and usually was something simple. He identified his outer circle of friends and wrote notes or had telephone calls. With close friends, he went for a walk with them or had longer, deeper conversations with them. With family, he planned special outing with each member.
Each of us would most likely take our own unique approach if in their situation. Gene, spending a career building business relationships (including playing a lot of golf) chose to bring a certain type of closure to many of his relationships. Randy chose to leave a legacy using the medium he had come to love (teaching/lecturing). Each approach appropriate to its creator.
Both books are a great read and cause one to reflect on life and how well we are living it.
(4 out of 5 rating is given because in Randy's book there was a large amount of "I, I, I" focus in his writing, and it became somewhat of a distraction. Others may think differently, but that's how it seemed.)
The Last Lecture 2008-06-29
This is an excellent read - I saw the author on TV when he gave the last lecture at the University and there is a lot more substance in the book. it also makes you think long and hard about the legacy that you will leave your children and also is a great example of a fearless person facing the end of his life and putting into words all that he feels improtant to share with the rest of us.
Kudos to the author
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