Annette S. (annette-s) reviewed on 5/2/2013 + 49 more book reviews

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch is an inspirational lecture by a professor of computer science who was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Professor Randy Pausch was a 47-year-old man who had a wife and three small childrenand three months to live. With precious time to waste, he felt the need to deliver one last message to his students, and mainly to his kids. His lecture wasn't about coping with dying. It was about living. The lecture was titled Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams, but it went into so much more than that. Pausch weaved his optimism through stories of his life. While the cancer lingered as a backdrop, the meat of the book contained tools for living an abundant life. He urged the need to never give up, the determination to follow your dreams and enable the dreams of others, as well as simple common sense tips like always telling the truth. Some of his anecdotes were poignant. Some were funny like the dream balloon ride with his new bride on their wedding day. As a teacher, Randy was direct and demanding. He had high expectations of his students and wanted them to reach their potential. Pausch said: Im a scientist who sees inspiration as the ultimate tool for doing good. He was actually talking about the inspiration of the moon landing in 1969, but he could just as well have been talking about himself. With this book he leaves a force of motivation, not just for his students, but for others, too. This book is saturated with life lessons for all of us.

Randy Pausch died on July 25, 2008.

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