The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

Over the years, numerous professors have given talks entitled "The Last Lecture." For Carnegie Mellon University professor Randy Pausch, however, the topic was no mere formality. When he presented his "last lecture" to hundreds of faculty and students last September, he already knew that he had metastatic pancreatic cancer. Despite a grim prognosis, Dr. Pausch delivered an upbeat, urgent call for his listeners to achieve their childhood dreams. Since then, this good-natured computer science specialist has become a worldwide celebrity; named "Person of the Week" by ABC News and invited to be a guest on Oprah. This memoir recounts the story of a brave man's encounter with a sense of his own mortality. An inspiring message for anyone who ages. (4 1/2 hours)