Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story (Thorndike Press Large Print Nonfiction) by Arnold Schwarzenegger (2012-10-19) Hardcover – 1788

Really liked this book! I am an avid reader and have been for a long time. I really liked this, much more then I expected. In fact I could not put this down once I got it. The fact is, that Arnold has lived a very very interesting life and he tells the stories of his life very well. He was an immigrant, endured a lot of hardships in life, was in the military, was successful in business adventures, one of the best weight trainers and muscle guys of his time.He married a Kennedy, became a Hollywood star and a politician and has a lot of stories about what its like to go from nothing and to slowly climb up the latter in life in more areas than one. He also is a pretty good thinker about things,,, meaning he often has ways to think outside the box in life and encourage himself in life and dream big and find ways to push himself through the hard times and become successful in every area of life. He also give us insight into things that not many other people know about or have experience with > such as making it in Hollywood and what its like to be involved in extremely competitive arenas in life. I really really liked this book. Its very inspiriting and a FUN read too.meaning the stories of how he overcomes and progresses in life are interesting and inspiring. In fact, I dont know of many people who have come from such a hard beginning and to have made it through so many difficulties and came out so sucessful in so many areas of life.Being Mr Universe, a fitness guru, a Hollywood celebrity loved by so many people, a household name, a politician, and involved in so many other things.... this guy has lived a fascinating life > and he tells the story of his life in a way that is very entertaining and educational and inspiriting. great book

I grew up watching Arnold movies and I always loved them, but I never knew much about his body building days, his business success or his time as governor. This book details each of these phases of his life in awesome detail and provides a lot of insight into Arnold's mindset and beliefs. So inspiring to see how driven he always was and how he overcame so many obstacles using his intelligence and ability to hustle! Awesome read whether you consider yourself a fan of his or not.

Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story is the autobiography of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnold's story really is amazing. What are the odds that a poor boy growing up in post WWII Austria would come to America, become the greatest bodybuilder in the world, make millions of dollars in real estate, become one of the most recognizable actors in the world, have his films gross almost $4 billion, marry into American royalty, and become the governor of California?Having followed Arnold's career for 30 years and now having read the book, it's clear that he beat those supposedly insurmountable odds because of four things:1) An optimistic refusal to believe it couldn't be done2) Systematic step-by-step planning3) Hard work4) The support of friendsArnold takes us through his entire life (so far), from the lessons he learned as a child in Graz, Austria to his return to Hollywood, after his terms as Governor. Arnold is candid, throughout the book. He takes pride in his successes and mistakes. Arnold sees each mistake as a lesson that is needed for later success.The bodybuilding career is well detailed, although I'm not sure the readers will come away with an appreciation for how much work it was, because Arnold looks back on it with a nostalgia that makes it seem joyful. I found it very interesting how valuable the mindset he developed as a bodybuilder was to all his later accomplishments. As a bodybuilder Arnold knew that to perfect a pose or to build a muscle it took thousands of repetitions of an exercise. Nothing is accomplished instantaneously or without effort. Therefore when he became an actor, he thought nothing of practicing dialog or stunt work for hours upon hours. Although, thirty-five years of seeing hard work turn into achievement turned into a stumbling block when he entered the world of politics, where things aren't as orderly.I was a little disappointed that the chapters on his movie career were not as all encompassing as I'd hoped. It appeared to me that each progressive movie was discussed less than the ones before it. Some movies are never mentioned. I understand why - the book has a theme and narrative and talking about some of the movies would not have added anything new to that theme or narrative. Of most surprise was there being no mention of Christmas in Connecticut - a TV movie that he directed. I would have been interested in what he learned being on the other side of the camera.The chapter that unfortunately has been of most interest to the press is that chapter dealing with the infidelity that resulted in a child with a household employee. It's important for the sake of balance that that chapter is in the book - not only for the necessary candor but because it too was a learning experience.Arnold's story is a very motivational story. He didn't start with any advantage over the rest of us, he's human and makes mistakes like the rest of us, and yet has accomplished so much. I think you will enjoy reading it and will learn from it.

This book can really be broken down into three acts: Act I: The Childhood/moving to America/Bodybuilding Act II: Movies, fame, fortune, marriage, and all the rewards Act III: The Govinator and the fall of the family.I read this book for mindset reasons. I wanted to read and absorb Arnold's mindset since I always found him to be quite an inspiration as a kid of the 80's and 90's. After all, the guy made a name for himself with his body, so there has so be some crazy motivational and mindset things to pick up.At no point did I think Arnold was perfect, but I always admired s work ethic, enjoyed his movies, and always thought he wanted people to achieve great things. The first part of the book I found most intriguing. It's the Schwarzenegger we don't know. The immigrant, the son, and to some degree, the bodybuilder. That alone was incredibly inspiring and you can hear Arnold's trademark optimism throughout the good and bad times. There is a lot to this man. He's self-made and enjoys achieving goals as a sport.I would recommend this on a couple of levels. Anyone who is looking for an extra kick in the butt, is into bodybuilding or weight training, or someone who enjoys the 80's or 90's movies.Where the book trailed off was his political life and the end with his family life. It was actually a bit sad and depressing, and you can tell the book losses it's mojo. But there are some valuable lessons in those mistakes. The one thing is you get a better portrait of the good and bad of the man's character. I honestly believe he wanted to win the governorship more than he wanted to be governor. With his family, it's surprising but not surprising. You can tell at the end of the book the divorce took it's toll.