A well-liked computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University who specialized in virtual reality, Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. A tradition at CMU was for profs to deliver a “last lecture” as if it were the last one they could give before they died. Since he knew he really was going to die, a month after his diagnosis he gave a last lecture so compelling, so full of life, that it attracted millions of views online — and a book deal.
Thanks to otherwise extraordinary health, Pausch lived long enough not only to complete the book, but also to see it published in 29 languages — and achieve New York Times Bestseller status. His goal was for his lecture to be a time capsule of advice for his three young children. He succeeded beyond his wildest dreams before he died on July 25 from his cancer. He was 47.