what wisdom would you impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance? if you were gone tomorrow, what would you want to be your legacy?carnegie mellon university is known for its last lecture series, in which professors are invited to give a talk where they consider their demise and ruminate on what matters most to them, essentially answering those very questions. randy pausch was one of those professors and this book was his last lecture.i have found it rather difficult to critique a d...

The Last Lecture is Randy Pausch's last hurrah- a final note to the world and his family about how to live, love and let go. It is beautiful.I think that we're all here for a reason and have stories to tell. How fortunate for us all that Randy had the time and ability to tell his particular story.I recommend this book for fans of memoirs, computer engineering and heart-felt narratives. I listened to the audiobook and it was excellent.Then, once I finished the book, I looked up Randy's actual las...

The Last Lecture, literally, for a professor with a terminal illness. Taken from a speech that he wanted to impart to his students, family, friends, - really everyone as he came to grips with his condition.This is about as emotionally charged and spiritually powerful as you may expect, the author is exploring territory that we all face, but he was at the edge of existence when he put this together. Randy Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had months to live, from this perspective he...

No doubt Randy Pausch was a nice guy. But this book is smarmy, self-indulgent crap--which is ok given the circumstances under which he gave this lecture. But it is not worth reading.This is typical 1980's individualistic, unreflective advise on how to succeed in life. Alas, Professor Pausch does not realize that he was born white, male, middle income, in exactly the time in the 20th century where he could avoid confronting WWI, WWII, the depression, Korea, Vietnam, urban riots of the 1960's, the...

I think this was one of those books where knowing the criticisms before starting it ultimately upped my enjoyment factor. Randy Pausch, the author, was one of those people who became wildly popular in 2008 thanks to the internet. He was a popular professor at Carnegie Mellon and was invited to give a “last lecture”, a tradition of sorts where a professor is urged to give a specially prepared lecture as though it were the last s/he were to ever give. And so they are encouraged to break down all t...

I sat down to write my review of “The Last Lecture” on Friday July 25th. Before I started to write, I decided to check Randy Pausch's website for any updates on his condition. He had died that morning at the age of 47. The book, and the lecture itself, now take on new meaning.For those who aren't aware, Randy Pausch was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University. The university has a tradition of inviting professors to give a lecture where they pretend that it is their last chanc...

It's hard to criticize a dying man. I think this is a great book for his wife, family, children, and friends to read, and although it has some good life lessons that are not revolutionary but do need repeating from time to time, this book is not well written. At points while I was reading I found myself actually disliking Pausch and his way of presenting himself, but then I realized that this would perhaps make me a horrible person. Maybe I am. I very much prefer Tuesdays With Morrie for a simil...

While this man has a 5-star attitude, I can only give the book two. yeah, everyone is raving about this guy... Five star attitude... the author gets diagnosed with terminal cancer. He refers to this as "an engineering problem" (understated and true) has 3-6 months to live, tops. Has 3 small children (ages 6 and under)who will never know him. he was scheduled to give a "last lecture", ya know, how to live your life as if you were dying... (irony) and he writes it in such a way that it's a celebra...

My review of this book will not be popular, but I must be honest. I'm halfway through this book, and although I appreciate a positive voice, it's really not that interesting or helpful. If I could sum up this book in three words, they would be "yay for me". The author tells us how great his childhood was, then that he accomplished all his childhood dreams, got the girl of his dreams...etc etc etc. It's really not a book how to better your own life, as much as it him telling us how great his life...

I was first "introduced" to Mr. Pausch while watching the Oprah show in the fall. My father in law was in the hospital at the time, fighting melanoma that had metastacized to his lungs. Simply stated, I stopped folding clothes and cried so hard during that show. Soon after, the emails began to circulate with links to the last lecture on utube and I watched every link I got and cried even more. I read all the internet articles and was touched every time. When I saw the book was coming out, I jump...