Total Recall: Arnold's Autobiography

This is what I completed today.

Total Recall - the autobiography of Arnold Schwarzenegger published in 2012. Took me about a month to read it. Got more than 600 pages after all. But the man's story could not be told in fewer. Born in a village in Austria, Schwarzenegger eventually grew up to become the Governor of California in USA and along this journey also became one of the most prominent bodybuilders, evolved into an action hero in Hollywood who delivered multiple box office hits and married one from the Kennedy clan. This book highlights the the competitive spirit in the man, his attitude of choosing big goals and then chasing them with single-mindedness. A determination that is inspiring. 

As a young kid, Schwarzenegger was one of my favourite movie actors. My early images of him are of course the ones that will always remain, wearing a black jacket with a gun in his hand as he rides the Harley chasing the T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. But if you look at his movie roster, the guy hardly got anything wrong in the 80's and 90's. Right from Conan the Barbarian, which was his first box-office hit, Schwarzenegger truly invented the glass smashing and gun yielding modern action hero with a slew of hits spanning two decades.  

Total Recall however covers so much more, his achievements in other avenues – his bodybuilding days, his construction business, his foray in real estate, his political stand – apart from also capturing Schwarzenegger, the family man. It is a book written with a warm heart, a man’s thoughts about himself, a man who strived for a lot and achieved most of his goals. So whichever way you see him, like him or hate him, what you cannot deny is that Arnold Schwarzenegger has been at the top of his game, in whichever field he was, for a long long time. A story worth reading about...