25. The Last Lecture

The Last Lecture Randy Pausch
September 2009

I wasn't originally going to write an entry for this book. But on second thought, I figured that, in the event that someone who might actually read this blog didn't know about it, I would be doing them a disservice. I have read the transcript of Pausch's actual lecture, but this is the first time I have read his entire book. It is essentially the background behind the lecture... why he decided to give the lectures.... why he decided to talk about certain things... and what was going on in his life around the time of the lecture.

Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and informed that he had approximately six months to live. At CMU it is common for professors to give a "last lecture" upon retirement, which gives them a chance to essentially "teach" whatever they want. Pausch's lecture was entitled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams."

Both the book and his lecture are more worth your time than probably anything you've ever read. Literally they both brought me to tears and made me laugh, inspired me and challenged me.