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The Last Lecture (Thorndike Press Large Print Nonfiction Series)
The Last Lecture (Thorndike Press Large Print Nonfiction Series) | 
 enlarge | Authors: Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow
Brand: Pausch, Randy
Category: Book
List Price: $32.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  864 reviews
Format: Large Print
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 285
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.7 x 1
ISBN: 141040711X
Dewey Decimal Number: 004.092
EAN: 9781410407115
Publication Date: May 16, 2008
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Product Description
Title: The Last LectureAuthor: Pausch, Randy/ Zaslow, JeffreyPublisher: Hyperion BooksPublication Date: 2008/04/10Number of Pages: 206Binding Type: HARDCOVER
Amazon.com Review
"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."br --Randy Pausch PA lot of professors give talks titled "iThe Last Lecture/i." 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? PWhen 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. PIn 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. /p p align=left span class="h1"strongQuestions for Randy Pausch/strong/span p img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/books/a-plus/Pausch_Randy_300._V12349126_.jpg" border="0" hspace="5" vspace="5" align="right"We were shy about barging in on Randy Pausch's valuable time to ask him a few questions about his expansion of his famous Last Lecture into the book by the same name, but he was gracious enough to take a moment to answer. (See Randy to the right with his kids, Dylan, Logan, and Chloe.) As anyone who has watched the lecture or read the book will understand, the really crucial question is the last one, and we weren't surprised to learn that the "secret" to winning giant stuffed animals on the midway, like most anything else, is sheer persistence. p strongAmazon.com:/strong I apologize for asking a question you must get far more often than you'd like, but how are you feeling? p strongPausch:/strong The tumors are not yet large enough to affect my health, so all the problems are related to the chemotherapy. I have neuropathy (numbness in fingers and toes), and varying degrees of GI discomfort, mild nausea, and fatigue. Occasionally I have an unusually bad reaction to a chemo infusion (last week, I spiked a 103 fever), but all of this is a small price to pay for walkin' around. p strongAmazon.com:/strong Your lecture at Carnegie Mellon has reached millions of people, but even with the short time you apparently have, you wanted to write a book. What did you want to say in a book that you weren't able to say in the lecture? p strongPausch:/strong Well, the lecture was written quickly--in under a week. And it was time-limited. I had a great six-hour lecture I could give, but I suspect it would have been less popular at that length ;-). p A book allows me to cover many, many more stories from my life and the attendant lessons I hope my kids can take from them. Also, much of my lecture at Carnegie Mellon focused on the professional side of my life--my students, colleagues and career. The book is a far more personal look at my childhood dreams and all the lessons I've learned. Putting words on paper, I've found, was a better way for me to share all the yearnings I have regarding my wife, children and other loved ones. I knew I couldn't have gone into those subjects on stage without getting emotional. pstrongAmazon.com:/strong You talk about the importance--and the possibility!--of following your childhood dreams, and of keeping that childlike sense of wonder. But are there things you didn't learn until you were a grownup that helped you do that? pstrongPausch:/strong That's a great question. I think the most important thing I learned as I grew older was that you can't get anywhere without help. That means people have to want to help you, and that begs the question: What kind of person do other people seem to want to help? That strikes me as a pretty good operational answer to the existential question: "What kind of person should you try to be?" p strongAmazon.com:/strong One of the things that struck me most about your talk was how many iother/i people you talked about. You made me want to meet them and work with them--and believe me, I wouldn't make much of a computer scientist. Do you think the people you've brought together will be your legacy as well? p strongPausch:/strong Like any teacher, my students are my biggest professional legacy. I'd like to think that the people I've crossed paths with have learned something from me, and I know I learned a great deal from them, for which I am very grateful. Certainly, I've dedicated a lot of my teaching to helping young folks realize how they need to be able to work with other people--especially other people who are very different from themselves. p strongAmazon.com:/strong And last, the most important question: What's the secret for knocking down those milk bottles on the midway? p strongPausch:/strong Two-part answer:br/ 1) long armsbr/ 2) discretionary income / persistencep Actually, I was never good at the milk bottles. I'm more of a ring toss and softball-in-milk-can guy, myself. More seriously, though, most people try these games once, don't win immediately, and then give up. I've won *lots* of midway stuffed animals, but I don't ever recall winning one on the very first try. Nor did I expect to. That's why I think midway games are a great metaphor for life. /p
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| Customer Reviews: Read 859 more reviews...
 If "he not busy being born is busy dying", Randy Pausch is immortal April 8, 2008
1236 out of 1289 found this review helpful
One of the staples of "the college experience" at many schools is the "last lecture" --- a beloved professor sums up a lifetime of scholarship and teaching as if he/she were heading out the door for the last time. It's the kind of tweed-jacket-with-elbow-patches talk that may or may not impart useful knowledge and lasting inspiration, but almost surely gives all present some warm and fuzzy feelings. br /br /But a "last lecture" by Randy Pausch was different in every possible way. The professor of Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University was just 46, and this really was his last lecture --- he was dying. br /br /And dying fast. In the summer of 2006, Pausch had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, a ferociously efficient killer. Only 4% of its victims are alive five years after diagnosis. Most die much faster. Think months, not years. br /br /Pausch fought back. Surgery. Chemo. Progress. But in August of 2007, the cancer returned --- and now it had metastasized to his liver and spleen. The new prognosis: 3-6 months of relative health, then a quick dispatch to the grave, leaving behind a wife and three little kids.br /br /On September 18, 2007 --- less than a month later --- Randy Pausch gave his last lecture.br /br /No one would have faulted him for launching a blast about desperately seizing opportunities in an irrational universe. Instead, Pausch delivered a laugh-filled session of teaching stories about going after your childhood dreams and helping others achieve theirs and enjoying every moment in your life --- even the ones that break your heart. Pausch's philosophy, in brief: "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."br /br /The lecture was taped, and slapped up on YouTube. Jeffrey Zaslow wrote about it in The Wall Street Journal, and news shows made Pausch "person of the week" --- and soon Pausch had a book deal reported to be worth almost $7 million. Few expected him to be alive when it was published.br /br /On February 19, I interviewed Randy Pausch for Reader's Digest. To the surprise of many --- including Pausch --- he was still his recognizable, energetic self. As I write (in early April, 2008), Pausch reports he's recovering from a standing eight count. But his good news doesn't deceive him. He notes that pancreatic cancer did to the photographer Dith Pran ("The Killing Fields") what Pol Pot couldn't --- it buried him in three months. br /br /And now we have the book. It's two books, really, because it reads one way with the author still among us and will surely read differently when "The Last Lecture" is like the The Butterfly and the Diving Bell --- the record of a dead man, talking. The first book invites your support and gives you a wake-up call. The second, I suspect, is also a wake-up call but, between the lines, reminds you that even happiness can't save you from death.br /br /Somewhere in between --- in the quiet space where a book really lives --- is a document that accomplishes a lot in 200 pages. It's about paying attention to what you think is important (when asked how he got tenure early, Pausch replied, "Call me at my office at 10 o'clock on Friday night and I'll tell you") and working hard and listening really well. It's easy to miss that last part of that in the emotion and the stories surrounding this book, but Pausch argues that hearing what other people say about you and your work is crucial to success and happiness. Because this is what you get: "a feedback loop for life."br /br /So, if you must, shed your tears for Randy Pausch. Imagine what it would be like if you or your dearest loved one drew the card called pancreatic cancer. And then put dying aside, and get on with your dreams. Amazing how many you can achieve if you want them badly enough. And how they have the power to cushion the pain when the bad stuff happens. br /br /Sounds crazy, I know: Pollyanna in the cancer ward. But I talked with the guy. And we laughed and laughed. Of all the achievements in a life that's winding down, that's got to be up there.br /br /
The Last Lecture December 30, 2008
34 out of 34 found this review helpful
The Last Lecture is a book filled with living-life-to-the-fullest advice from a college professor. While to some this might sound as interesting as reading a doctoral dissertation, you'd be surprised. br /br /The author, Randy Pausch, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, writes so well that you'd probably let him teach you about computers too. Some things he talks about include: remember to laugh, seizing every moment, overcoming obstacles, appreciate the gifts you recieve, and enabling the dreams of others. br /br /Although the author died this year, his wisdom will no doubt be around awhile in this very enlightening book. Other books in this genre I liked include Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man and Life's Greatest Lesson and Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World.
A Big Gift in a Small Package April 9, 2008
142 out of 165 found this review helpful
As I opened the shipping box from Amazon.com, I found two preordered copies of Randy Pausch's book, one for my family and one for whoever needs it most within the next few weeks. This could be a friend or business acquaintance who has reached some personal crisis or turning point. I'll know. Randy's message will find the right recipient. br /br /This book is a very large gift in its compact, neatly bound actuality. It is a gift of hope and affirmation. br /br /Two weeks ago I said good-bye to a friend and business colleague who at 58 died of pancreatic cancer. His was a more private passing, but nevertheless he fought the disease until the disease won, and he died with dignity. Two days before his death, he called a mutual friend to wish this friend good luck with minor corrective surgery. Even two days before death, my stricken friend was thinking of others' welfare. As I sat in his memorial service with 300 other mourners, watching a slide presentation of his photographs and original art, I also thought about Randy Pausch. The two personalities mixed together because they share so many of the same qualities: creativity, gusto for living, a sense of humor, lifelong dedication to giving back to their communities, and a profound faith in personal power.br /br /This is the story of The Last Lecture: that we can face any challenge in this life as long as we welcome our fate with optimism and determination to confront all odds. We can live for the welfare of others. br /br /The good professor is his own metaphor. In this final gift, he both teaches and does. br /br /Much will be said about this book and its immediate iconic impact on a nation experiencing the doldrums of war, economic turmoil and loss of standing among other nations. Here in the story of one American sharing the wisdom of our universal humanity, our fragility, our mortality. Here's one of our best and brightest. br /br /In the ways of passionate storytellers, Randy Pausch and coauthor Jeffry Zaslow tell us how to achieve the most vital of all human yearnings: realization of childhood dreams. Within this narrative are timeless lessons of showing gratitude, setting goals, keeping commitments, tolerating frustration, maintaining a sense of humor in the face of adversity, telling the truth, working hard, celebrating victories when they arrive, and choosing to be a fun-loving Tigger over a sad-sack Eeyore. br /br /Life is short, much shorter now for this professor. And this "last lecture" is no less significant for the young and healthy as it is for the sick and old. br /br /Dream big, reach for the stars now.br /
One of the most important books of our time April 9, 2008
110 out of 142 found this review helpful
Do whatever you can to get a hold of this book. If everyone lived the way Randy talks about in this book the world would be not only a better place but the BEST place.
A Fantastic Gift June 11, 2008
30 out of 37 found this review helpful
This guy is fantastic! What a gift he has shared with the world, a personal gift to people he will never know. He speaks from his heart with a genuine love of people and a desire to share with us all his astonishing awareness of what matters in life. br /It is a plea of sorts to humanity to have FUN because life is very short, to give of yourself and to take care of the people around you because that is the most incredible legacy a person can leave. He gives us unusual awareness, brought by a terminal disease, that most people never have until they are also in his position, if at all. br /Read this book! And if you enjoy this kind of awareness, about living in this moment with fun and generosity, you will love Ariel and Shya Kanes' extraordinary books, br /Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment and How To Create a Magical Relationship. They are beautiful, life inspiring books like 'The Last Lecture', that offer us the chance to experience the heightened awareness Mr. Pausch is describing. Many thanks to these three authors.br /
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