Learn More About Me

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The Last Lecture

I'm sure by now you've at least heard of this book if you haven't already read it. I'm a little behind on this one.

Here is the synopsis from bn.com

"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."
—Randy Pausch
"A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?

When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave—"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"—wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have…and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.

In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come."

I started reading this on the plane and finished it about midway through our vacation. Josh read it in about two days. It could easily be read in a couple hours if you have time. It is a short, easy, entertaining read. I thought it was cool because he talked a lot in the book about Walt Disney World, and I was reading it while we were there.

Josh read it before I did and he told me that I would cry when I read it. I teared up a little at one part, but it wasn't an all out Nicholas Sparks cry, if you know what I mean. It was a good book, and I'd recommend you read it. His various philosophies and opinions are interesting, along with his many experiences in his life.

And that is all I've got to say about that.

1 comment:

  1. I wanna read it too, so at least you aren't the last person to read it. I am! :-)

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails
 
SITE DESIGN BY DESIGNER BLOGS