The Last Lecture

It’s a tradition at Carnegie Mellon to give “Last Lecture’s”, where professors are asked to contemplate their demise and think about the wisdom they wish to impart upon their audience.  Thing is, when Randy Pausch, a professor of computer science, was asked to give his own “Last Lecture”, he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.  After giving his lecture, he wrote this book, detailing his thought processes before and during his lecture, and writing a few more lectures down, so that his children may have something of him, may know him long after he is gone.  
This isn’t a lecture about death and how to handle it.  Randy makes it quite clear starting from his introduction that his lecture will celebrate life, that is for his children and wife, and for dreams.  This strange juxtaposition of the life and dreams of a dying man make his words more powerful, and when Randy jokes it brightens the mood, so that his audience knows to laugh and celebrate, and that his children may someday know too.  With words chosen for an adult audience, yet simple enough that younger generations may understand, Randy tells his tale of his dreams, and how his supportive parents, and how he has achieved his dreams.  His lecture, and this book, have inspired millions of his audience, and so he has left behind a great legacy to his family, and his students.