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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$ 11.50
You Save: CDN$ 12.00 (51%)
New (24) Used (8) from CDN$ 11.50
Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 21
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Live life at its fullest November 9, 2008
R. Truta (Toronto, Canada)
There are so many things I'd love to say about this book and the legacy Randy Pausch left behind... I think that every parent should read it and learn from it, and every teacher (at all levels) should read it and get inspired from it.
Although you can watch the real lecture on YouTube, I strongly recommend reading the book. It brings up issues, beliefs that many of us share, and it does so in such a wonderful way! If I were to leave my kids a collection of life lessons, it would probably be this book.
God bless your family, and rest you in peace, Randy!
Courtesy of Teens Read Too October 25, 2008
TeensReadToo.com (All Over the US & Canada)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
There's nothing more bittersweet than reading a story where you know the ending before you start the first page. Everyone knows that on July 25, 2008, Randy Pausch lost his battle with cancer. But fortunately for those of us who never knew the man, he's left behind his legacy in THE LAST LECTURE. The well-known lecture can be viewed on YouTube, but with the help of a Wall Street Journal writer, Jeffrey Zaslow, he's taken his famous "last lecture" and written a book on how to live.
If you've watched the actual last lecture (I took the time after reading the book to sit and watch the entire talk), then the book is a perfect companion. If you've not seen the video, you will still be touched by the book. Though the book doesn't quote the lecture verbatim, Mr. Pausch has taken his lecture and expounded with more details and memories.
Having gone to university in Pittsburgh, I am very familiar with Carnegie Mellon University. When I first heard about the book and famous talk upon the death of Mr. Pausch, it was the mention of CMU that first caught my attention. I proceeded to get my hands on the book and read it in one quiet evening.
Mr. Pausch doesn't preach about his cancer, nor philosophize on death. Instead, he tells of his childhood dreams and how others can achieve their dreams. He speaks often of hitting a brick wall. He tells all that if you want something badly enough, then you will find a way around that brick wall. He shares with the reader his rejections by Brown University, Carnegie Mellon University, and even the Disney Imagineers. But he fought for what he wanted, and found a way to achieve his dreams.
He fondly thanks his parents for his wonderful childhood. He thanks his tough college mentor Andy van Dam. He tells about one of his students, whose dream was to work on the next Star Wars films. This coming in the early 1990s when no one anticipated there would be an additional three.
I believe all who pick up this book will be touched in some small way. It might not make you a better person for reading it, but I believe it will make you think. He offers simple suggestions for getting more out of life. It may be the simple truth of how to offer a sincere apology. It may be that you should put others first. Whatever it is, read the book with an open mind and be thankful that you are still alive and have the chance to live each day.
Reviewed by: Jaglvr
 The Last Lecture October 22, 2008
Pauline
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Randy Pausch lived his life the way he wanted to and trusted himself that his decisions were correct. "The Last Lecture" gives us a look into his life and how he thought he could find joy and satisfaction in life even though faced with death. In his soul searching about life and about leaving a legacy for his three children he decided to give a last lecture to a live audience and then he expanded the last lecture and turned it into a book.
The book does make you look at your life and ponder about living life to its fullest and it makes you think about the priorities in your own existence. Randy Pausch was obviously an highly intelligent person who had great parents and later found a great wife and had three great children, but then he got cancer. His whole life was centered in the academic world of teaching and always learning and he thrived on it.
I applaud his life and his dedication to sharing with others what he learned about life and what he thought was the correct way to live life, but I found myself thinking numerous times that he seemed arrogant and that the general theme of the book was that you could get anything in life if you really wanted it. I guess that is the irony in the book, Randy always got what he wanted in life, but in the end all he wanted was more life, but being mortal like all of us he could not get what he wanted.
 Words of wisdom but nothing new August 29, 2008
The Mad Hatter (Prince Edward Island, Canada)
5 out of 7 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)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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
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