THE LAST LECTURE

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch is a deeply moving book that offers a mix of life advice, personal stories, and reflections on achieving dreams. While it’s inspiring and full of heartfelt moments, some parts may feel repetitive or overly sentimental for certain readers. That said, the book’s core message about making the most of life and leaving a legacy is powerful and relatable. It’s a great read for those looking for a motivational and emotional journey, though it might not resonate with everyone in the same way.

This is one of the rarest of rare books, which appeals to everyone who reads it. This is a book that can make you laugh or cry, or perhaps both at the same time! The background is significant. The author, Professor Randy Pausch, then in his mid 40s, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and told that he had only a few months to live. He had been married for only eight years and had three young children. Randy and his wife Jai faced this tragedy with remarkable fortitude. They decided to make the best of his remaining time, moving to a different city, putting their affairs in order, and so on. However, the professor wanted to leave a unique legacy for his students and – more importantly – his children: a lecture on achieving one’s childhood dreams. Most of this book is about how this “last lecture” took shape in the author’s mind and how it was eventually presented to a packed audience. Despite the devastating circumstances, the author does not lose his sense of humour. For instance, in one of the early chapters, this is what he says about his lecturing skills – being known as the best speaker in the computer science department of his university was like being known as the “tallest of the seven dwarfs”! As the book progresses, he addresses a variety of topics. Some of his most memorable one-liners are as follows: • Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted. • He changed my life. I could never adequately pay him back, so I just have to pay it forward. • It can be a very disruptive thing for parents to have specific dreams for their children. • Time is all you have. And you may find out one day that you have less than you think. Many of the chapters are illustrated with photos from the author’s own collection, which impart a warm personal touch to his narration. Interestingly, this book does not contain the last lecture itself, though we are told that it consists of about 300 slides containing mostly pictures and very little text. However, the video of this lecture is available on Internet, and it is extremely inspiring. By the time you finish this book, you will start thinking of Randy as a good friend and guide. Though the author left this world a few months after the publication of this book, I am sure that his circle of friends and admirers will never stop growing.

This book explains the life story of an author on how our childhood dreams shaping our life. He was saying that he was lucky eventhough he had cancer with limited lifespan and he revealed how to live your life happily.

“ 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?” This was the question that Randy had, when he was asked to give the Last Lecture. Like other professors, he didn’t had to imagine it as his last, because it was his last as he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Those who doesn’t know, Randy Pausch was a Professor of Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. In August, 2006 he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. During this time he was approached to give ‘The Last Lecture’. Randy wanted his children to know who their father was. He wanted to pass on all the wisdom he collected from his father and his own experiences. Being a professor, he felt this is the only way he can leave a print, for his children, by giving a lecture. The lecture he gave was full of optimism, hope, inspiration and humor. He tried to give the lecture full of snippets of stories and experiences from his own life, providing moral and inspiration. He had that charm to add humor to even a very serious topic. Some of the advises may make you feel that, he was from upper middle class family and he always got the support from his family and friends around. He was a person who had a very clear picture of what he expected and learned from life and what he was willing to share with the world. He always lived by the principles he believed and shared in the hope that others would benefit from it. Many books dealing with terminal illness become famous because of gaining sympathy from readers. But this book is different. It’s not about dying or the emotional roller coaster the family undergoes when one member of the family has terminal illness. This book is about living. After knowing about his cancer, Randy didn’t brood about it, instead faced moment very optimistically. He was thankful to God that he had got some time to prepare about what he wants to leave as a legacy. The book is full of inspirational quotes and inspiring stories. He talked about honesty, integrity, gratitude and the things that are dear to him. He lectured about the joy of life and how much he appreciated life, even with so little time left. He mentioned about living the childhood dream, how to achieve the childhood dream and how to enable the dream of many others. Being a Computer Science lecturer at Carnegie Mellon University, he set up a virtual reality lab, where he taught ‘Building Virtual Worlds’. In 1998, along with Don Marinelli, he set up the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC), to focus on educational goals and creative development in students. Randy also started Alice. Alice is a free download, innovative software tool that allows students who have never programmed before to easily create animations for telling stories, creating interactive games etc,. You might not agree with all of Randy’s lessons, but you will be left with choosing to live with fun and optimism. “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand’. ” There’s a decision we all have to make, and it seems perfectly captured in the Winnie-the-Pooh characters created by A.A.Milne. Each of us must decide: Am I a fun-loving Tigger or am I a sad-sack Eeyore?” After reading the book, i watched the video of his last lecture. I would suggest everyone to watch this video. ” 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. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.”

An amazing book.. Compiled after a lecture from a dying person.. You will find only positives, not a single ounce of negativity.. A book about celebrating life...

I picked up this book because my son had it assigned as summer reading going into his senior year of HS. I had heard good things about it, but I was not ready for this. This was just amazing and thought-provoking. I fear a kid in HS won't get all the good stuff packed into this that, as a Dad, I picked up. I am amazed at how hard it hit me, and yet how much I enjoyed reading and learning from him. I can see he was an amazing person, and fate was just not on his side. Words just don't do this story justice; you need to read it, and possibly more than once, as you go through life. I hope his family is well. It has been many years now, I know, but with such an amazing Mom and Dad, I am sure his kids are going to be fine. He seems to have found the magic key to leaving them a great message of love.

The edges of the pages looked like torn using a scale. It is not smooth cut. Feels of a low quality book.

Excellent book. Quick delivery. Good quality

I first came across Randy Pausch through his academic work on virtual reality, and his contributions to the user experience of the magic carpet ride prototype at Disney's Epcot in 1995. In 2007, he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, and decided to share his insights into life through a "last lecture" at his university. The lecture was the basis for this book, published in April 2008. Randy Pausch died in August of that year, aged 47. In this book (and in the lecture), Pausch addresses his diagnosis head-on, wanting to talk about "the elephant in the room": how he and his wife found out, and what it means - particularly for their three young children. There's a neat moment when he describes his childhood passion for winning giant stuffed animals at carnivals, and then bringing his collection on stage during the lecture to give away to the audience; he loved the symbolism when a student (whom Pausch knew had also been diagnosed with cancer) selected the giant elephant (in the room). His impending death makes him pay closer attention to those around him - noticing, for example, how his doctor answered "You probably have three to six months of good health" to his question "How long before I die?". The way the doctor tried to put his response in a positive light reminded him how, at Disney World, if guests ask "What time does the park close?", the cast member is supposed to answer "The park is open until 8pm". He also collects words of wisdom about death and the brief span of our lives - thus, when Krishnamurti was asked about the most appropriate thing to say to a friend who was going to die, he replied, "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." [p184]. And he addresses the reader directly on p111: "Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less time than you think." A moving, thought-provoking book. Recommended,

絶対読むべき感動の本です。 生きることの素晴らしさを考えさせられます。