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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 004.092
EAN num: 9781401323257
Format: Roughcut
ISBN number: 1401323251
Label: Hyperion
Manufacturer: Hyperion
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 224
Printing Date: April 08, 2008
Publishing house: Hyperion
Release Date: April 08, 2008
Sale Popularity Level: 4
Studio: Hyperion
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Brief Book Summary:
'We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.'
--Randy Pausch
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 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?
When 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.
In 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.
Brief Book Summary:
'We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.'
--Randy Pausch
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 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?
When 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.
In 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.
Questions for Randy Pausch
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.
Amazon.com: I apologize for asking a question you must get far more often than you'd like, but how are you feeling?
Pausch: 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.
Amazon.com: 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?
Pausch: 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 ;-).
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.
Amazon.com: 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?
Pausch: 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?'
Amazon.com: One of the things that struck me most about your talk was how many other 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?
Pausch: 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.
Amazon.com: And last, the most important question: What's the secret for knocking down those milk bottles on the midway?
Pausch: Two-part answer:
1) long arms
2) discretionary income / persistence
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 very first try. Nor did I expect to. That's why I think midway games are a great metaphor for life.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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I wish I had been given or had at least read this book when I was young.I think it should be required reading for everyone.I feel blessed to have read it.
Rated by buyers -
I don't read - I just don't have the time. I read this book and was so deeply moved by the way Randy lived his life, loved his wife and his children. Also, his dreams, he loved them too. This book was well written and made me want to read and read until the end. I highly recommend this book.
Rated by buyers -
While I appreciate the reviews of those who found this book to not be of stellar quality, I would like to offer another side to the coin. The book is "simple and sweet" and may not offer much in terms of the ultimate enlightenment, but maybe that is not what I believe the book was intended to be.
The book speaks to many for the purpose that it brings up all the nostalgia and experiences that we either had or longed for in our lives. At times it does seep with Hollywood syrupiness, but it is written for a variety of people to be able to understand and relate to. Randy was writing a book for his family and friends (and those of us lucky enough to have read the book or listened to the lecture).
There is a reason Hollywood syrupiness exists and that is because it reminds of us all the wonderful things there is in life (from the seemingly mundane interactions with friends and family members to the "quirky" mishaps that occur as you are being whisked away from your wedding in a hot air balloon).
I currently am experiencing what has been coined a "quarter-life" crisis and this book put a lot into perspective for me. My summer has been spent with a more focused reflection upon where I have been and where I would like to go in my life. It made me remember those "childish" daydreams and wishes. My curiosity has not been zapped from me...as I am a science teacher and thrive on questioning and seeking (which may be another reason I found Randy's book well worth reading). I just lost my way in a very quickly changing world that often gets bogged down with the desires of materialism and status.
My thoughts are that I enjoyed this book because it was able to verbalize the many thoughts that have been swimming through my mind the past year and helped me regain focus on what is near and dear to my heart.
Rated by buyers -
This is by far one of the best!!! Each chapter is a "life-lesson". What an incredible young man---I hated for the lecture to end also. We can all take something from this book. Thank you!
Rated by buyers 
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On July 25, 2008 Randy Pausch passed away. Professor Pausch wrote his book to share some of his life with us. He wrote the book to share some of his outlook and advice with us. He didn't focus on his impending death. That probably would have been of no service to him, his family, nor us. This book is based upon his now famous "Last Lecture".
Why did Prof. Pausch's lecture explode onto the national scene and spawn a book? The simple answer is because the American people wanted to embrace what an accomplished, intelligent, responsible, (and other respectful adjectives) family man has to say about life when he can "tell it like it is" free of an agenda. While I currently do not watch episodic television, I remember watching family shows that featured a functional and wisdom imbued father.
Father Knows Best, My Three Sons, The Brady Bunch, Eight is Enough, Life Goes On, and Seventh Heaven are such shows (well, they weren't always the most exciting shows). While Married With Children, Malcolm in the Middle, and According to Jim are funny shows, the father characters represent buffoons played for laughs and devoid of wisdom. Is it wrong to suggest that we just might tend to look for a benevolent father figure now and then? Yes, some of us are rebels just too smart to listen to dear old Pops. Grow up, and listen to your maturity elders, I say. It doesn't hurt to hear what a man of Prof. Pausch's character and intelligence has to say.
In my belief, it is the mother who tends to tell her children, "I love you". It is the father who likely should say, "Buck up, and pay attention". Pursue your interests, and work to develop your skills in both your job and hobbies. Then with luck, your dreams will find you. If this sounds familiar, I paraphrased The Last Lecture's last chapter.
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