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.
The movie total recall 2012 in the end is a dream license#
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. If you want to be charitable, you'd call 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. 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. Proud of his accomplishments and honest about his regrets, Schwarzenegger spares nothing in sharing his amazing story.more In 2003, he was elected governor of California and a household name around the world.Ĭhronicling his embodiment of the American Dream, Total Recall covers Schwarzenegger’s high-stakes journey to the United States, from creating the international bodybuilding industry out of the sands of Venice Beach, to breathing life into cinema’s most iconic characters, and becoming one of the leading political figures of our time. After twenty years, he was the world’s biggest movie star. Within ten years, he was a millionaire businessman.
After One of the most anticipated autobiographies of this generation, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Total Recall is the candid story by one of the world’s most remarkable actors, businessmen, and world leaders.īorn in the small city of Thal, Austria, in 1947, Arnold Schwarzenegger moved to Los Angeles at the age of twenty-one. Born in the small city of Thal, Austria, in 1947, Arnold Schwarzenegger moved to Los Angeles at the age of twenty-one. One of the most anticipated autobiographies of this generation, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Total Recall is the candid story by one of the world’s most remarkable actors, businessmen, and world leaders.