Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Last Lecture | 2008 | Randy Pausch | Buy |
Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture (2008), co-written with Jeffrey Zaslow, is based on the famous lecture Pausch gave at Carnegie Mellon after learning he had terminal cancer. The book expands on the themes of achieving childhood dreams and living with purpose.
Pausch was a computer science professor who became widely known after a video of his September 2007 lecture went viral online. The lecture, titled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,” covered his life experiences and the lessons he wanted to pass on to his three young children. The book goes beyond the lecture itself, adding stories and reflections that did not fit into the original presentation.
The Last Lecture became a bestseller and has been translated into dozens of languages. Pausch died in July 2008, months after the book’s publication. The book remains popular with readers looking for a frank, personal account of how one person chose to face the end of his life.