The Last Lecture was a phenomenal book! Once I was done reading it, I was constantly recommending it to all of my friends, family, and teachers. I had watched Randy Pausch's speech on television with my mom and I knew that they had written a book to go along with the lecture. I had been planning in reading this book, so I decided to give it a try. The book was written very uniquely, in almost a vignette style. There were different sections and then subsections within them.
As you can probably gather, I like books that I can relate to. With the different lessons that Randy was giving, it was really easy to achieve this sense of normalcy. There was one point in the book where he talks about achieving his dream of having an article in the World Book Encyclopedia; as I was reading this in my school library, I found myself getting up, walking over to the encyclopedias, looking up “Virtual Reality”, and finding Randy Pausch's name under the article. He speaks, throughout the book, about achieving your dreams, and finding yourself. In the process of reading and after finishing this book, I found myself taking these lessons to heart. I found myself living in the moment. I have never read a book that has impacted my life as profoundly as this one has.
The only criticism if any that could be given to this book, would be that the author is not really “important”. I have heard the question, “What makes him so special?” What does make Randy Pausch so special? Yes, he has had an amazing life, but why does the fact that he has terminal cancer and is making a memorable keepsake for his kids such a huge deal. He is not famous, he is not a celebrity, he is only known for his lecture and book. So, why have so many people read his story? It is interesting. This book gives people a way to look at lessons they may already know. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a quick, heartfelt read. Caution: Read with tissues on hand.
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