On 18 September 2007 computer science professor Randy Pausch stepped in front of an audience of 400 people at Carnegie Mellon University to deliver his last lecture. At 46, Randy had been told the month before that he had pancreatic cancer and had only a few months to live. Despite his wife asking him not to lecture that day - it was her birthday - he felt compelled to do it anyway. Randy's lecture that day was called 'Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams'. It was modelled on a series of lectures where top academics are asked to think deeply about what matters to them, and then give a hypothetical 'final talk', i.e., 'what wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?'. His talk lovingly, humorously and defiantly revealed the most important things Randy had learnt throughout his life, the wisdom that he had gathered and the message he wanted to leave his children, aged 1, 2, and 5. During the lecture, Pausch was upbeat, alternating between wisecracks, offering inspirational life lessons, and performing push-ups on stage. At the end of the lecture Randy Pausch knew he had touched his audience, they gave him a standing ovation, but he had no idea how many people would be affected by his words.

About the Author

RANDY PAUSCH was a professor of Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University. From 1988 to 1997, he taught at the University of Virginia. An award-winning teacher and researcher, he worked with Adobe, Google, Electronic Arts (EA), and Walt Disney Imagineering, and pioneered the Alice project.

Reviews

Made famous by his "Last Lecture" at Carnegie Mellon and the quick Internet proliferation of the video of the event, Pausch decided that maybe he just wasn't done lecturing. Despite being several months into the last stage of pancreatic cancer, he managed to put together this book. The crux of it is lessons and morals for his young and infant children to learn once he is gone. Despite his sometimes-contradictory life rules, it proves entertaining and at times inspirational. Surprisingly, the audiobook doesn't include the reading of Pausch's actual "Last Lecture," which he gave on September 18, 2007, a month after being diagnosed. Erik Singer provides an excellent inflective voice that hints at the reveries of past experiences with family and children while wielding hope and regret for family he will leave behind. The first CD is enhanced with photos. Simultaneous release with the Hyperion hardcover. (May) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

Sunday Telegraph and the Sunday Mail: "Pausch's last lecture [which over 6 million people have viewed online] arrives in the form of a hardback book which holds all the potency of his original talk But this book is something concrete [Randy's] heart is in there, and it is the loveliest of gifts." The Courier Mail: "Young people love him, old people love him, academics love him,