Pausch, Author of ‘Last Lecture,’ Dies
by Dick Donahue -- Publishers Weekly, 7/25/2008 1:16:00 PM
Randy Pausch, whose The Last Lecture has been on PW’s nonfiction bestseller list for the last 15 weeks, lost his battle with pancreatic cancer July 25 at the age of 47. A close friend, Steve Seabolt, said, “Randy died peacefully at around 4 a.m....with his trademark intellect and quick wit intact.” Pausch was diagnosed in September 2006 and, in August 2007, was told he had six months to live. A month later, the Carnegie Mellon professor gave an inspiring lecture on an annual theme at the university: “What would you say if you knew you were going to die and had a chance to sum up everything that was most important to you?”
A video of the lecture was viewed on the Internet by more than 10 million people, and the book based on the lecture, which was published by Hyperion in April, has more than three million copies in print. Pausch’s reason for writing the book was simple: “I was trying to put myself in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children.” Hyperion editor-in-chief Will Balliett called Pausch “a gifted and generous teacher, who took all of us who knew him and the many who rightly felt they did, on an unforgettable journey. The thoughts of everyone at Hyperion are with his wife Jai, his children and his family.”
Wall Street Journal columnist Jeff Zaslow, who was the co-author on The Last Lecture, recalled Pausch’s “remarkable ability to reach into his own life and find an anecdote, a funny story, an uplifting memory—and then translate it in ways that resonated deeply with the rest of us. I first saw him move and inspire 400 people at his last lecture. It was astonishing to then watch his message leave that room and touch millions worldwide. As his co-author, it was a great honor to see his love of life from a front-row seat. I’ll miss him.”
