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The Last Lecture
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The Last Lecture (2008) (edit title/settings)

by Randy Pausch (Author), Jeffrey Zaslow (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

"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... read more

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

  • - A professor who is dying of a harsh cancer writes about his "Last Lecture"
  • - Brilliant man makes a net for his family in preparation for his death.
  • - Proffessor gives his last lecture before he dies
  • - Professor contemplates death and how to preserve some sort of legacy for future generations. Result = book.
  • - A dying professor leaves his legacy for his son to remember him by.
  • - Most inspirational bopk ive ever read
  • - very inspirational
  • - Randy Pausch had cancer and wrote a book about his experiences in life for his kids.
  • - Randy's kids were very young when he died, so he wanted to share all his accomplishments with them.
  • - Randy's book was to let his kids know that they should never give up on their dreams.

Summary edit see section history

Randy Pausch was married with three young children. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. After he was diagnosed, he decided to write a book on all his achievments in life. Randy set many goals and he worked extreamly hard to accomplish them. Randy wanted his children to know that they... read more

Randy Pausch was married with three young children. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. After he was diagnosed, he decided to write a book on all his achievments in life. Randy set many goals and he worked extreamly hard to accomplish them. Randy wanted his children to know that they should never give up on their dreams, because everything is possible if you put your mind to it. Randy spent as much time as possible with his kids and with his wife before he had died. At his Last Lecture it was his wifes birthday and they shared it with all of his staff and friends.

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Randy Pausch: Randy was the main character in the book, he was married and had three young children. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and wrote a book on his life for his children because they were never going to know who their father was. He was a very smart man and had alot of potential.
  • Jai: Jai was Randy's wife. She was caring and understanding to the situation. She also was very strong for letting his spend all the time he did on making this for his kids then to spending time with all of the family.
  • Dylan: Randy's oldest son. He is six years old and curious about the world, just like his father.
  • Chloe: Randy's 18 month old daughter.Will not get to know her dad
  • Tommy Burnett: A student of Randy's at the University of Virginia whose childhood dream was to work on the next Star Wars film.Ended up actually working on the next star wars film
  • Logan: Randy's son who is three. He is adventurous and talkative, just like his father.
  • Kirk: Add a description of this character.
  • Jim Graham (Coach Graham): A football coach that left a lasting impression on Randy. Randy talks about him as a great guy.
  • Chris
  • Dennis
  • Laura
  • Alice
  • Tammy
  • Steve
  • Dr. Reiss
  • Andy Van Dam: Randy's professor that taught him many life lessons.An inspiration to Randy.
Show all 16 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “An injured lion still wants to roar”
  • “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand”
  • “A bad apology is worse than no apology”
  • “Ernest is better than hip.”
  • “Somehow, with the passage of time, and deadlines that life imposes, surrendering became the right thing to do.”
  • “Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won't make us happier.”
  • “I wanted to help students learn how to judge themselves.”
  • “Phrase alternatives as questions: Instead of . . . "I think we should . . . ," try "What if we did?"”
  • “Almost everybody has a good side. Just keep waiting. It will come out.”
  • “Just ignore everything they say and only pay attention to what they do.”
  • “Proper apologies have three parts:1) What I did was wrong2) I feel badly that I hurt you3) How do I make this better?”
  • “Tell the truth . . . all the time.”
  • “Fundamentals. That was a great gift Coach Graham gave us. Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals.As a college professor, I’ve seen this as one lesson so many kids ignore, always to their detriment:You’vegot to get the fundamentals down, because otherwise the fancy stuff is not going to work.”
  • “My message is this: There is more than one way to measure profits and losses. On every level, institutions can and should have a heart.”
  • “My dad gave me the tongue-lashing of a lifetime. He believed manual labor was beneath no one. He said he'd prefer that I worked hard and became the best ditch-digger in the world rather than coasting along as a self-impressed elitist behind a desk.”
  • “The brick walls are there for a reason. They’re not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.”
  • “•When there’s an elephant in the room introduce him”
    Randy Pausch
  • “Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think.”
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • EXPERIENCE IS what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.
    Highlighted by 2796 Kindle customers
  • “When you’re screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they’ve given up on you.”
    Highlighted by 2519 Kindle customers
  • The brick walls are there for a reason. They’re not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.
    Highlighted by 2082 Kindle customers
  • Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won’t make us happier.
    Highlighted by 1804 Kindle customers
  • Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think.
    Highlighted by 1490 Kindle customers
  • Proper apologies have three parts: 1) What I did was wrong. 2) I feel badly that I hurt you. 3) How do I make this better?
    Highlighted by 1460 Kindle customers
  • Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.
    Highlighted by 1305 Kindle customers
  • Brick walls are there for a reason. They give us a chance to show how badly we want something.
    Highlighted by 1296 Kindle customers
  • “…The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”
    Highlighted by 1168 Kindle customers
  • Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. That comes from Seneca, the Roman philosopher who was born in 5 B.C. It’ll be worth repeating for another two thousand years, at least. Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.
    Highlighted by 476 Kindle customers
Show all 28 quotes from this book

First Sentence edit see section history

A LOT OF professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture."

Table of Contents edit see section history

Introduction
1. The Last Lecture
2. Really Achieving your Childhood Dreams
3. Adventures...and Lessons Learned
4. Enabling the Dreams of Others
5. It's About How to Live Your Life
6. Final Remarks
7. Acknowledgements

Glossary edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

  • Dream Big: The whole point of the novel was to relate life lessons to his children, and so that they may know him better. In doing this, the author talked time and time again about dreaming big dreams...because some day they may come true.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This book is in 100 Fantabulous Book Challenge. (community list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Randy Pausch (Author)
  2. Jeffrey Zaslow (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Hyperion
Country: United States
Publication Date: 2008
ISBN: 1401323251
Page Count: 224

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: 2009285139
  • Dewey: 004.092

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

For the Young Adults/Adults as this book pertains to life, death, and accepting life as a part of death which is inevitable by all human beings on this earth.

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

  • youtube.com: Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch (Oct. 23, 1960 - July 25, 2008) gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving presentation, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals. For more on Randy, visit: http://www.cmu.edu/randyslecture
  • Entertainment Technology Center: Don Marinelli left his position as Associate Head of Drama to work with the Computer Science Informedia digital video project that created Synthetic Interviews which allowed users to interview historical and fictional characters.Randy Pausch returned to Carnegie Mellon University, his alma mater, bringing his Alice rapid prototyping software with which he started 'Building Virtual Worlds,' possibly the most broadly cross-disciplinary course at Carnegie Mellon. This popular course put artists and technologists together to build virtual reality world experiences.These two early efforts helped demonstrate how computer scientists and artists could work together to develop new forms of digital entertainment, and the Entertainment Technology Center was formally established in the Fall of 1998.
  • Alice.org: Randy Pausch helped develop Alice, the Carnegie Mellon software teaching tool. He said, "Through Alice, millions of kids are going to have incredible fun while learning something hard. They'll develop skills that could help them achieve their dreams. If I have to die, I am comforted by having Alice as a professional legacy. So it's OK that I won't set foot in the Promised Land. It's still a wonderful sight."
  • YouTube: This is how i found out about this book, and learned of Randy Pausch. His speech was incredible. He was on Oprah, and I remember just being lost in how he delivered such high hopes, things to think about, and such a horrible reality that he would die. He certainly left his mark on the world before he left.
  • the Last Lecture: More information about Randy, his book, online extras, a downloadable reader's group guide, and more

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • The Five People You Meet in Heaven
  • Have a Little Faith
  • The Harvard Trainer
  • The Five Lessons You Learn After You're Dead

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history

   
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