Summary

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. Randy died on July 25, 2008.

Quotes

"Cancer didn't change me at all. He said. "I know lots of people talk about the life revelation. I didn't have that. I always thought every day was a gift, but now I am looking for where to send the thank you note."

General Themes

The general theme is that your childhood dreams can be fulfilled if you try hard enough, in some way. Also, it's a series of life lessons and "rules to live by" that Randy wants to impart on his three young children. 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. This resulted in this touching, yet comical, novel. Surprisingly, the audio book doesn't include the reading of Pausch's actual "Last Lecture," which he gave on September 18, 2007, a month after being diagnosed.

What the Reviewer Liked

The book is inspiring in terms of achieving one's dreams in life. It is also inspiring to see a man fight for his life and make the remaining time he has meaningful. His clear messages to his family are quite heart wrenching and yet warm and inspiring.

Shortcomings or Flaws

The second half of the book is a series of short sections on specific "rules of life", while the first half is about his childhood dreams. The 2nd section is harder to read, since the sections are somewhat unconnected.

Writing Style

It's a near written form of a verbal presentation, so very informal, quirky and funny.

Author Qualifications

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.

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Kara is the Gothic root of the word "care."
It means to reach out, to care, to lament, to grieve with.