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The Last Lecture | 
 enlarge | Author: Randy Pausch
Publisher: Harper Collins Canada
Category: Book
List Price: CDN$ 23.50
Buy New: CDN$ 10.58
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Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 16
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 1401323251
Dewey Decimal Number: 004.092
EAN: 9781401323257
ASIN: 1401323251
Publication Date: April 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Words of wisdom but nothing new August 29, 2008
The Mad Hatter (Prince Edward Island, Canada)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
While my heart goes out to the family of Randy Pausch for their support of Randy's project and their eventual loss, The Last Lecture, really did not tell us anything new. I, too, am living with cancer and as a fellow cancer victim, it is easy to understand why Randy would want to leave a glimpse of himself to pass on to his children and instill the values he so strongly believed in. However, if one lives a compassionate, respectful, humble, loving life, and makes the best of each day as it comes, the lessons in this very short book are nothing unique that will set the world on fire. The lecture presents an important message about living an honest life, taking time to smell the roses, and the importance of following your dreams, but haven't we already heard that? Without question, Randy's lecture will be a valuable legacy to his children, but as a reader who is distanced from his close family bond, the book was comparable to hearing echoes of basic life values we have already learned or read about in similar books.
Yes, Randy was a person to admire for his work, beliefs, family commitment and determination to see his project to the finish. That is what earned this book the two stars it received. It is worth reading for the style and occasional witty sense of humour but do not expect to come away feeling as if you have learned anything new or life changing.
 "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand" August 27, 2008
Belen (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
If you had the oportunity to give a last lecture, what would you teach to those listening to you? Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, had to make that decision, and he decided to talk about how to really achieve your childhood dreams.
Randy was dying of cancer when he gave that class, in September. I saw his lecture on wwwyoutubecom, and it really made a big impression on me. It was interesting, motivating, sometimes funny, and the kind of thing that makes you think. Here was a man with a few months to live, that found some time to gift others with the things he had learnt along the way. It was simply unbelievable...
Of course, when I heard that the lecture had been transformed by Randy and Jeffrey Zaslow into a book, I was curious. What else could he say about the subject? The truth is that the book is very similar to the conference Randy gave at Carnegie Mellon, with a few extra details and anecdotes.
That is not necessarily a bad thing, though. This book is a legacy from a good man that makes you remember the importance of living in a way you can be proud of, making a good impact on the lives of others on a daily basis. As someone else so aptly put it, this is a wake-up call, and as such, something you should take advantage of and treasure.
Highly recommended...
Belen Alcat
The Meaning of Life August 13, 2008
Bruno Chu (Vancouver, BC Canada)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Like all great people, Randy Pausch was a better person than any written text will ever represent. In my many College and University experiences I have had the privilege to listen to a few last lectures from my favorite professors in the past. All have been moving, all have inspired. But this "Last Lecture" is something different altogether. Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006 and was given only several months to live, which makes his message all the more inspiring. Pausch gave his last lecture in Sept of 2007 and died July 2008.
As for Pausch's words, they will uplift you, they will inspire you to get your priorities straight and accomplish those life goals that you've always planned to do but always found excuses to avoid. Though similar in message to the recent movie "The Bucket List", I think Pausch's message is much more immediate. Why wait until you know you're dying, go do it now.
What really comes across in the text and even more so having watched his lectures online, is that Pausch was a guy that really got it. He loved being alive and he truly believed that he was blessed to be on this earth. Get this book for a friend or loved one that is going through some hardship, guaranteed they will feel better about themselves afterwards.
 Faith is the cornerstone for life and death July 14, 2008
Glen Argan (Edmonton)
17 out of 44 found this review helpful
The Last Lecture is a cheerful book of reflections by Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Pausch, now 47, gave "the last lecture" at Carnegie Mellon last September reflecting on those experiences and values that have been most valuable in his life. The lecture has been expanded into a book that now sits at the top of the bestseller list. Pausch was given three to six months to live last August. He is still alive and mobile, but his condition is worsening.
His story is unfortunate, even tragic. Married at age 38, he and his wife Jai have three young children who he will never see grow to maturity. Randy gave the lecture (which was videotaped) and wrote the book to, at least in part, leave something of himself to guide his children.
Pausch is a remarkable man with an exuberant spirit, a spirit that the book reflects. Readers will, no doubt, find The Last Lecture a spur to reflection on their own experiences and values.
Pausch tells stories. In his bachelor days, he regularly took his niece and nephew on outings. One day when he arrived in a brand new convertible, his sister told her kids to keep Randy's car clean and not to create a mess. Randy, knowing messes were inevitable, took a soft drink and poured it over the backseat while his sister talked. The kids would no longer worry about being the first to mess up the car.
Pausch also provides and unpacks his maxims for life:
- Dream big.
- Don't complain; just work harder.
- "Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think."
These may seem commonplace, almost trite. But most guidelines for life can be written on the back of a postage stamp. It's the living-out of them that gives them their fibre.
Pausch, however, says nothing about what comes after death. It's hard to believe that a person can stare death in the face and have nothing to say about these "last things." Indeed, how one views the last things will inevitably colour how one views the present moment.
Even more puzzling is that Pausch is a Christian, apparently a regular churchgoer. He says he didn't discuss religion because he wanted "to talk about universal principles that apply to all faiths." Yet, he often discusses those universal principles as if they were personality traits.
If this were only a matter of Pausch's particular outlook, that would be one thing. But the attitude that regards faith as "something very personal" and not a matter for public discussion is too widespread and too wrong-headed to be passed over in silence.
St. Paul expresses it succinctly: "If the dead are not raised, . . . your faith is futile" (1 Corinthians 15:16, 17). If they are raised, then faith is everything. Either God is the Source of All Being and the cornerstone of all life or he is nothing worthy of note. If God is the Source of All Being, he cannot be regarded as an optional extra -- good for me, but maybe not for you.
Faith is personal. It is the most personal thing there is. But that does not relegate it to the realm of the private, the undiscussable. When we discuss our faith, we become vulnerable. We also offer the world something it needs much more than maxims about dreaming big and working harder.
The root of many of the world's problems is the separation between faith and life. Bringing faith out of the closet and into public view invites opposition and controversy. It also offers the world the opportunity for healing and fullness of life. Pausch's book would perhaps not have been such a runaway bestseller if he had discussed ultimate issues from the perspective of Christian faith. But if we want to offer our children something of everlasting value, faith is the cornerstone.
61 Great Mini-Lectures June 20, 2008
Bohdan Sirant
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
This quick read consists of 61 great mini-lectures, generously sprinkled with autobiographical anecdotes about growing up with many touching and inspirational family memories ["One rule in our house is that you may not ask one-word questions."]. Randy Pausch uses these stories to illustrate life's lessons about parenting, self-esteem, dignity, duty, integrity --and of the importance of dreaming and helping others achieve their dreams.
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