I feel like I know Schwarzenegger a bit better now, and so I have to give him and his co-author credit - they did their job. That said, whether you come away liking him or not, the personality of the man definitely shines through the pages, and that's what makes it a good autobiography for me. We seem to like someone who made something out of nothing, and give him free license to have bragging rights about it. In many ways, the success of Arnold Schwarzenegger - and the unapologetically arrogant air about him - is a reflection of the times we live in. Reading this book wasn't life-changing, but it certainly was thought-provoking. The book crescendos with Arnold's ten principles for success (almost like a summary for an essay-question answer you may have to write in a final exam), which as a reader felt both boring and condescending. From a gripping first ten or twelve chapters, where he takes you from a tiny town where he grew up into the little-known world of body building, where each page is a new revelation, the books slows in the second half, with reams upon reams of spiels about Schwarzenegger's politics, and how much he achieved while governor, and how many important people he got to know and "schmoozed" with (schmoozed, by the way, is his favourite word ever). Thanks Arnie, but personally, I'd have been content just to hear about your life experiences and judge both success and applicability to my life for myself.įor me, the first half was as interesting as the second half was boring. The subtext for me was: I'm wildly successful, if you want to be too, here's how. In fact, through and through, the style of writing leaves very little to your imagination - Arnold will tell you what happened, exactly what he (and the other person) said, what he thought and why - in fact, wait a few lines, and he'll even tell you whether it was the right or wrong thing to have done. Sure, he went to the top of his game in three completely diverse fields (body building, acting and politics) - but particularly towards the second half of the book, it gets annoying. What there is no doubt about, though, is that he's arrogant. If you want to be charitable, you'd call him driven and intentional if you want to be harsh, you'd say this guy was conniving and postured. His life didn't happen by accident - it was an outcome of years of hard work and chasing down carefully-set goals. What becomes apparent very soon is that this is someone who had huge ambition, tremendous tenacity and a calculating business mind. This book dispels one myth right away - the impression most people carry that Arnold, with all his muscle and Terminator films, is all brawn and no brains. The majority of his book is about his successes in the three major chapters in his life: bodybuilder, actor, and Governor of California. He devotes one chapter called "The Secret" to his extramarital affair. Schwarzenegger's autobiography, Total Recall, was released in October 2012. Schwarzenegger was married to Maria Shriver and has four children. In May 20, he was named as one of the Time 100 people who help shape the world. Schwarzenegger was sworn in for a second term on January 5, 2007. Schwarzenegger was then re-elected on November 7, 2006, in California's 2006 gubernatorial election, to serve a full term as governor, defeating Democrat Phil Angelides, who was California State Treasurer at the time. Schwarzenegger was sworn in on November 17, 2003, to serve the remainder of Davis's term. Schwarzenegger was nicknamed "The Austrian Oak" and "The Styrian Oak" in his bodybuilding days, "Arnold Strong" and "Arnie" during his acting career, and more recently "The Governator" (A portmanteau word of Governor and Terminator, one of his film roles).Īs a Republican, he was first elected on October 7, 2003, in a special recall election to replace then-Governor Gray Davis. Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor, businessman and politician, and served as the 38th Governor of the state of California.Īrnold gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film icon.
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