The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch

Call me a heartless bastard, but Randy Pausch's book did not bring forth the emotions of nostalgia and heartbreak that I thought it would. I feel the problem with the book is its heavy emphasis on process: how Randy came to deliver the Last Lecture. The behavior of his wife comes up looking selfish instead of caring. And this affects the rest of the book.

In any case, I have very mixed feelings about observing death in progress. On one hand, a person who knows that he is at death's doorstep and talks about his greatest moments and dreams is a celebration of life and something very special. At the same time, death is tragic. To see a loved someone fade away is the most devastating thing for anyone. Countless movies, some of them quite popular, romanticize such deaths. I suppose they offer catharsis to some, but to me, they offer false hope and wistfulness.



Tags: leadership