Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story

This is such a well told story of a remarkable mans life, so much so that I have thoroughly annoyed my friends and family going on about it. I bought it for fun really thinking that Arnold hasn't released anything before really so it would be interesting, but it's so much more. From the start you know this is going to be a tale of rags to riches but throughout all of it you cant help but admire everything about him, from his determination to succeed in life and break the mould, to his gentle nature and just the way he speaks about everything as 'matter of fact' and at no point does he get bitter about events in his life or adopt the 'Woe is me' view which so many of our modern day celebrities do. This was a real eye opener to me and an inspiration, and I believe that no matter who you and what you think of him, everyone should listen to the last chapter titled 'Arnold's Rules' (narrated by arnold himself). It puts a lot of so called motivational speakers and life coaches to shame and is something I have listened to on it's own several times. I thoroughly enjoyed this and would recommend it to anyone, safe in the knowledge that they will take away something positive with them.

A very accurate events of the authors life. The book goes into great detail about all aspects of Schwarzenegger's life from his early childhood back home in Austria to his multi million dollar movies to his body building. The man has clearly led a packed life, full of exciting and interesting moments.

He really goes into detail about his days bodybuilding and his movies, his lie life ad marriage break down.

I would really recommend this book to any fan of his movies as it allows you to understand the man behind the characters.

Fear not, Arnie does not read all of it.



I was worried that he would read the whole book. Thankfully Stephen Lang was hired to finish the job. Arnie’s style of narrating just didn’t sound right to me and made for difficult listening.



Over all it was a good insight to the man. I do think it is maybe part of a PR campaign to recover his image. The other thing which stuck out was the references to his 'amazing wife'. Just seemed like this book was a way of sucking up to her to get her back.



Over all a great read.

If you are interesting as to what makes someone successful then here is one of the greatest examples. When you consider he knew no one when he got to America with limited English and a basic education Arnie became one of the greatest, certainly the most famous bodybuilders of all time. He then went on to be one of the highest paid actors of all time and then governor of California not once but twice. The remarkable thing is that he doesn’t think of himself as remarkable he just wanted it and did what was needed to get it, without fear.

Well, his life story is quite something. But in the end I got bored by the great 'I am' that comes with such a successful life. The book does go on and on. So you have to be a real Arnold fan to wade through this. His early life is the most interesting part, after that it is all predictable.

When reading biographies from rich and powerful people, you see how bad person they were in life and how they step on people to arrive where they are now. But not Arnold Schwarzenegger. I was very impressed how hard worker he is, and how he could achieve all his goals and dreams by working hard on it, believing in himself, studying and winning on life. A true inspiration.

I have always found Arnie an interesting character. Having first seen his films, then read some of his books. This story was however by far and away the best. It was interesting to learn of his background and development as both a body builder and a business man. By definition, autobiographies are likely to portray a more than positive spin on the trials and tribulations of the author, I felt that this was no different. However on the whole a great book and one I really enjoyed, but probably for fans only.

I have to admit up-front to being an admirer of Arnie and all he has achieved in his life. I approached this book expecting it to be a tale of his exploits during his rise to fame, maybe a little salacious at times, and a fun read. Instead what I got was an absorbing story of a man who through his own determination and focus achieved almost everything he set out to, told with wit and a fair measure of self-deprecation. The difficult times in his life (his split from Maria Shriver, for example) were told with honesty and sensitivity. And his advice to the reader was most inspiring - after listening to this I was raring to get on with those challenges I had always promised myself I would go for but never seemed to get round to.



What also made interesting reading/listening was his time as Governor of California, which I thought would be far less interesting than his Hollywood years. I had no idea how much he achieved in his time in office, and the good he did for the citizens of California and the environment.



In terms of the narration, the first chapter is read by the man himself, and lends a certain intimacy to the text that I really enjoyed. So I was somewhat disappointed when Stephen Lang took over the telling for the rest of the book (until Arnie comes back for the final chapter, talking about the breakdown of his marriage), but soon forgot and found myself almost hearing Arnie speaking as he read with confidence and clarity.



One of my most enjoyed biographies for a long time. Recommended.

This was an unusual choice for me as I am a huge film fan but with only a passing interest in Arnie's films.



The early chapters about his life growing up in post wwII Austria were fascinating as was his clear business ability on his arrival in the US. A surprisingly small proportion of the book was given over to his film career but then it's a long book! Likewise his time in politics was always very interesting.



The challenge for me in this book was how much time he spent talking about body building. Clearly it has been a major part of his life and success but it was, for me, a very dull part of an otherwise fascinating story.

An interesting and honest account of Arnold's life. I knew about the bodybuilding, films and governorship but not about how he got there or what it took to be a champion and maintain it for so long.

Although a relatively long book at no point was I bored, on he contrary I was inspired. All in all a good read.