Last Friday, on my late evening flight back from Mumbai, I read this phenomenal book called The Last Lecture (by Randy Pausch). I was blown away by simplicity of the narrative and sheer power of the underlying message. It is easily the best non-fiction book I’ve ever read.The book is about the last lecture (a tradition in US universities; last lecture before the professor retires) which was so different from regular last lectures (which mostly exhibit competencies of the retiring professor in his area of specialization). When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to deliver such a lecture (in 2007), he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer (he actually died in 2008). But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about computer science, his favorite subject, or about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment. It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living – and the message he wanted to leave behind for his kids.
Personally, I fell in love with humility and simplicity of the guy. Pausch was clearly so much more than a man between the walls of academia; he was a “real” person who as a child had aspiring dreams, and as an adult, lived and preached a fulfilling and wholesome life.
Though The Last Lecture borders on biography - self help category of books (I hate both!), the power of the message/teaching is very compelling. In fact, I could not put the book down till I read the last page (a rare feat since I am at-best a casual reader!)
Highly recommended – pick up a copy even if you are not the most voracious of readers, or see the video on YouTube.
2 comments:
Sounds like a good read. I will pick this one up. Thanks.
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