Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story Author: Arnold Schwarzenegger | Language: English | ISBN:
B006VGGAC4 | Format: EPUB
Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story Description
THE GREATEST IMMIGRANT SUCCESS STORY OF OUR TIME His story is unique, and uniquely entertaining, and he tells it brilliantly in these pages.
He was born in a year of famine, in a small Austrian town, the son of an austere police chief. He dreamed of moving to America to become a bodybuilding champion and a movie star.
By the age of twenty-one, he was living in Los Angeles and had been crowned Mr. Universe.
Within five years, he had learned English and become the greatest bodybuilder in the world.
Within ten years, he had earned his college degree and was a millionaire from his business enterprises in real estate, landscaping, and bodybuilding. He was also the winner of a Golden Globe Award for his debut as a dramatic actor in
Stay Hungry.
Within twenty years, he was the world’s biggest movie star, the husband of Maria Shriver, and an emerging Republican leader who was part of the Kennedy family.
Thirty-six years after coming to America, the man once known by fellow bodybuilders as the Austrian Oak was elected governor of California, the seventh largest economy in the world. He led the state through a budget crisis, natural disasters, and political turmoil, working across party lines for a better environment, election reforms, and bipartisan solutions. With Maria Shriver, he raised four fantastic children. In the wake of a scandal he brought upon himself, he tried to keep his family together.
Until now, he has never told the full story of his life, in his own voice.
Here is Arnold, with total recall.- File Size: 20364 KB
- Print Length: 658 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1451662432
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (October 1, 2012)
- Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
- Language: English
- ASIN: B006VGGAC4
- Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,136 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #68
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Sports > Biographies - #73
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Political
- #68
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Sports > Biographies - #73
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Political
I was a big Schwarzenegger fan through my college years, up until the time of the most recent revelations about his relationship with his housekeeper. When I started reading this book last night, I was wondering if Arnold's ego would allow him to own up to his mistakes and, to a large extent, he does and I admire him for it. In many ways, this is the typical immigrant narrative about having a dream and working hard to achieve it. The stories of his early years growing up in post-war Europe stand out on account of what we would consider the abject poverty that he experienced, in a house with no running water or indoor plumbing. I especially enjoyed his descriptions of his early business efforts, selling ice cream by the lake in the summer and ditching school to panhandle (resulting in a substantial beating when his father found out).
Arnold admits the mistakes he made, but he doesn't come across as being terribly repentant. He says he used steroids in his bodybuilding career because people didn't really know their dangers at the time. Later in the book, he details some of his womanizing, but I have the sense that he rationalizes his behavior to a certain extent. He seems sorry to have caused pain to his family but, as with all of his errors, seems almost comfortable in moving on with his life. In some ways, I think this ability to compartmentalize negative experiences and move forward is one of the attributes that makes him so successful.
For me, the overriding lesson in this book was that someone with a plan, the ability to analyze experiences and the motivation to work hard can become successful in just about anything he or she seeks to do, in spite of a lack of money or connections.
Schwarzenegger's new book isn't as bad as it could be. This is a decent autobiography, with plenty of memories and anecdotes. Like Arnold himself, the book is warm but so guarded I can't help but wonder what he's leaving out. This is not a racy tell-all. It is a not-bad account of an ambitious (but not remotely self-aware) man who has done a a fair amount of interesting things.
Arnold's most candid memories come early in the book, with his accounts of childhood in Austria during the early days of the Cold War. He tells of snuggling with his brother and parents in bed during thunderstorms, of their house with no toilet, of being beaten by parents and teachers alike. There is insight into his father's bitterness and the futility of surviving in a country trying to find its footing in the wake of the Third Reich. From a young age, Arnold saw America as a beacon of strength and safety, and bodybuilding as the path to lead him there. He boldly recalls being "absolutely certain" he was special. From a young age, Schwarzenegger was shameless in going after what he wanted: he panhandled money to go to the toy store and movies, went AWOL from the military for a bodybuilding contest, and picked fights for thrills. His concern seems first and foremost about getting caught, and even in hindsight he seems unconcerned as to what this all might say about his character. He unblinkingly describes steroids and women ("one of my girlfriends was a stripper and the other was a gypsy.") But he's also sure to mention his gratitude for the parental figures who nurtured him along the way.
In America, Arnold's cunning and determination bring success at bodybuilding, promotion, and various entrepreneurial endeavors.
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