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The Last Lecture

By Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow

(310)

| Paperback | 9780340977736

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Book Description

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 should we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? IfContinue

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 should 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 Paush, 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 Paush has combined the humour, 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.

Critics

  • THE LAST LECTURE

    Can you enjoy a story when you know the ending? We all know we are going to die someday, but for computer scientist Randy Pausch, “someday” came into focus back in August 2007, when he learned that his pancreatic cancer had metastasized to his liver ... (read full critics)

    teenreads published on Thu, 16 Sep 2010

  • THE LAST LECTURE

    Can you enjoy a story when you know the ending? We all know we are going to die someday, but for computer scientist Randy Pausch, “someday” came into focus back in August 2007, when he learned that his pancreatic cancer had metastasized to his liver ... (read full critics)

    teenreads published on Mon, 13 Sep 2010

22 Reviews

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  • 2 people find this helpful

    Without losing love, it is hard to understand how precious you life is.

    Lead your life in the right way, the dreams will come true.

    An ordinary person makes an extraordinary life.

    The best book I have read in recent years.

    Is this helpful?

    Philosophiae said on Jun 23, 2010 | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    What would you do when you know the end date of your life? Professor Paush told us that apart from doing preparation for family, we can also record down all the "lessons" we learnt during our life time. All these could benefit the others, not just only those are close to you, those are next door, bu ... (continue)

    What would you do when you know the end date of your life? Professor Paush told us that apart from doing preparation for family, we can also record down all the "lessons" we learnt during our life time. All these could benefit the others, not just only those are close to you, those are next door, but also people in the globe that can read and access to Internet...

    Really enjoyed reading the chapter of "Be the First Penguin”. It told us that failure is not something stupid but can showcase your courage on trying and keep you on the road to success – when you try, you keep eliminating all the possible pitfalls.

    The ultimate lecture that Professor Paush wanted to give us is, Always Remember to Show your Gratitude to the others, especially your beloved ones.

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    Antoinette said on Jul 17, 2010 | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    Good Advice That Everyone Should Take

    I am not a fan of memoir but this is a book that nobody should miss. It is full of practical advice for living your life and not missing anything. I am so impressed that this man provided the world with so powerful a gift and was so selfless with the little time he had left. My heart goes out to ... (continue)

    I am not a fan of memoir but this is a book that nobody should miss. It is full of practical advice for living your life and not missing anything. I am so impressed that this man provided the world with so powerful a gift and was so selfless with the little time he had left. My heart goes out to his family at his loss. The world is less than it was with his passing.

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    Bibliophile said on Oct 25, 2008 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

  • This was a very good book I would recommend to all people. The author got a terminal disease with 3 to 6 months of life remaining, but he was not beaten. He had lived a great and fruitful life in around forty-year of age, achieved most of his dreams, including experiencing the zero gravity, workin ... (continue)

    This was a very good book I would recommend to all people. The author got a terminal disease with 3 to 6 months of life remaining, but he was not beaten. He had lived a great and fruitful life in around forty-year of age, achieved most of his dreams, including experiencing the zero gravity, working as the Imagineer in Disneyland and developing the virtual reality world. All his legacies were very inspiring to me.

    Randy finally presented his last lecture for the audience, and most importantly, for his beloved kids to know him better when they would grow up without him. In his talk, Randy emphasized the importance of having childhood dreams and the ways to lead our lives. He talked about the basic principles of life: have fun, have dreams, good time management, hard-work, kindness to others, persistence, be prepared, honesty etc. All of these were well-known and yet easily-forgotten. I therefore particular like Chapter V - It's about how to live. It was a summary of his way of life.

    　

    "Luck is indeed where preparation meets opportunity."

    "even if I was in a position of strength, whether at work or in relationships, I had to play fair. Just because you’re in the driver’s seat, doesn’t mean you have to run people over."

    "Self-esteem? He knew there was really only one way to teach kids how to develop it: You give them something they can’t do, they work hard until they find they can do it, and you just keep repeating the process."

    "The brick walls are there for a reason. They’re not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something…are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people."

    "I just want you to know that it feels great to be alive, and to be here today, alive with you. Whatever news we get about the scans, I’m not going to die when we hear it. I won’t die the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. So today, right now, well this is a wonderful day. And I want you to know how much I’m enjoying it."

    ------------------------------------------------------------------

    Time management: 1. Time must be explicitly managed, like money, it doesn't matter how well you polish the underside of the banister; 2. You can always change your plan, but only if you have one; 3. Are you spending your time on the right things? 4. Delegate; 5. Take a time out.

    Raising the White Flag: sometimes, surrendering is the right thing to do, particular to the one you love.

    Don't Complain, Just Work Harder: Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals.

    Don't Obsess Over What People Think: Don't let others worry about what I'm thinking. And you yourself don't obsess over what others think. You will be 33% more efficient.

    Start By Sitting Together: find things you have in common; let everyone talk, don't finish someone's sentence; phrase alternatives as questions to allow people to offer comments rather than defend one choice.

    Watch What They Do, Not What The Say: when it comes to men who are romantically interested in you, it's really simple. Just ignore everything they say and only pay attention to what they do.

    Be the First Penguin: Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.

    Show Gratitude: I could never adequately pay him back, so I just have to pay it forward. Go out and do for others what somebody did for you.

    All You Have Is What You Bring With You: One thing that makes it possible to be an optimist is if you have a contingency plan for when all hell breaks loose.

    All You Have to Do Is Ask

    Make a Decision: Tigger or Eeyore: I'm going to keep having fun everyday I have left. Because there's no other way to play it. I could pack a lot of fun into those thirty years. But if that's not to be, then I'll just pack fun into whatever time I do have.

    The Input of Others: Tell your friend that in his death, a part of you dies and goes with him. Wherever he goes, you also go. He will not be alone.

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    Candy said on Jan 5, 2012 | Add your feedback

  • It is a second time to read this book. The writer is a very interesting and a good performer in his lecture. Honestly, his presentation in his last lecture is more interesting, worth to watch this lecture in youtube.

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    Coke said on Sep 23, 2011 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

  • This is a very touching and sad book.

    The author, Randy, let us know what is the important thing in his life when he was alive before.

    Also, he wished his kids and wife will better after he left soon.

    It is most touching when he said he can't see his kids how they're growing up in future.

    Sigh!! ... (continue)

    This is a very touching and sad book.

    The author, Randy, let us know what is the important thing in his life when he was alive before.

    Also, he wished his kids and wife will better after he left soon.

    It is most touching when he said he can't see his kids how they're growing up in future.

    Sigh!!!!

    I recommend this book to anyone who care himself and his family.

    Is this helpful?

    Michael said on Aug 8, 2011 | Add your feedback

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