The Last Lecture

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch


What was this book about?

Randy Pausch is a husband, a father of three, and a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University. He is invited to participate in their “Last Lecture” Series where professors speak for an hour about what they want to pass on or teach their students if they knew they were going to die shortly. The twist with Randy is that he knows he has only 3 – 6 months to live. He has been diagnosed with cancer and has 10 tumors in his liver alone.

Randy takes the time out of his last days with his family to prepare his last lecture. This book is essentially a replay of the knowledge that he wanted to pass on. This isn’t just for his students but is also something that his children (all quite young) can remember for years. It is like having a little piece of their father that is always available to them.

What did you like/dislike about the book?

This book is quite inspirational. He doesn’t just think about how his time is flying away, except as it applies to the time he wishes he could spend with his wife and children. I spent the entire time chocked up, but at the same time just thinking the thoughts in this book are happy.

What genre would you consider this?

Inspirational

Overall: A

If I was to nominate this book for an award it would be: Book I Want to Give my Mother for Christmas