very emotional bookNovember 30, 2008 had watched Randy's story on tv and the net - wanted the book and got it at a great price plus no s/h - have yet to read it - but know that it will be a very emotional experience
The Last LectureNovember 29, 2008 I thought it a very uplifting book.I've sent it to my grandson, among others. Beverly
Two Professors, One LessonNovember 27, 2008 I watched the lecture and read the book and was deeply moved.
This is the professor, at the sunny side of his age and the climax of his career, diagnosed of pancreatic cancer and left with only several months of life.
He did not wince or curse, but received the "death sentence" broken-heartedly but good-humoredly. He was heart-broken because he knew he had to leave his beloved wife and kids behind. He was good-humored becaues he was an inborn optimist and always looked on the "silver lines" of any trouble.
The book is full of daily, funny but thought-provoking anecdotes of Professor Pausch's life. He gives us many pieces of useful advice, out of common sense yet still sharp as a dagger.
The Last Lecture also remind me of another book I read several years ago, Tuesdays with Morrie. Here is another professor, diagnosed with an incurable disease, kept a dialogue with his former student every Tuesday, sharing his wisdom and courage.
Both professors have passed away, but their perseverence and calmness will usher many forward in their fight with every obstacle of life.
After all, we are all dying men. As Gandalf the Grey puts it: "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
the lecture is betterNovember 27, 2008 When a story starts out on the silver screen and someone later is tasked with turning it into a book, it's rare for the book to hold its own against the film. Unexpectedly, this book is similar: Dr Pausch's last lecture (videos of which you can find on the Internet without trying very hard at all) is sublime, whereas the book that followed it somehow doesn't have quite the same punch.
The story itself is heartbreaking. Pausch was diagnosed with terminal cancer, with maybe six months left to live. He would leave behind his wife and their three small children. The youngest of his children is virtually guaranteed to have no memories of him; the eldest will probably only have fuzzy memories. What do you do? In Pausch's case, he accepts his university's invitation to deliver a last lecture, with the knowledge that he, alone of those delivering such last lectures, will never teach again.
His stories in the lecture are both entertaining and illuminating. He owns the mistakes that he has made, and he owns the successes that are also his. His love for his wife and kids shines through on every page. He has led a remarkable life, one which he has obviously enjoyed. Some people never learn to seize the day; Pausch doesn't seem to have let a day go by unseized.
But for all that, especially in the section offering advice, the book falls flat. Maybe it's just that the lecture was so good that the book never could measure up. Reading about him doing push-ups during his lecture isn't quite the same as actually watching him do them. The lessons in this book are ones that many would do well to learn. But I found the lecture itself to be a better mechanism for delivering them.
I ordered ten copies of The Last Lecture.November 27, 2008 I ordered ten copies of The Last Lecture to give as Christmas gifts to my children and friends. The books arrived in two days and have already been presented to some of the happy owners. Many valuable thoughts were contained in the book which provided much wisdom in an easy-to-read style.
