I always thought that Arnold was an interesting person, and the book proved to be as interesting. The "slow-paced" tag is definitely apt. I feel that he jumps around from chapter to chapter, and even within a single chapter. He will tell one story or tangent for a paragraph or page, and then jump to the next, and even years. For example, he will tell a story about a movie from 1994, and then two paragraphs later, go back to a conversation he had with someone in 1989. It's not hard to follow but I felt a little frustrated with some of the jumping around.

The stories were fascinating and very insightful. The book still gets five stars for the content. I loved learning more about Arnold and his fascinating life. The issues that I have with this book are negligible and I can attribute to this being an autobiography by an actor whose first language is not English.

You could definitely tell when Arnold was leading the charge on the writing versus the biographer assisting him. The language changes gradually throughout and it is interesting to notice. All-in-all, I really enjoyed this read. At the end, Arnold gives you a list of approximately 14 items to consider when designing your life and preparing to accomplish the great things you seek to realize. The list was great, but would have diminished in worth had I not read the book from start to finish. It was like a meme or an infographic but with a real punch having the story behind it.

I was not an Arnold Schwarzenegger fan, so I did not read this out of an expression of admiration but an expression of curiosity, and I am not a fan after finishing, but found his drive, accomplishment and even-headedness to be admirable. It was also quite interesting to learn about his personal experience in the wake of WWII.

But he admits he's not very introspective and it shows. It shows in the style of the bio, which is event after event without much analysis of what it means and can really drag especially during the political parts. For an example of his lack of introspection, he only pushes to investigate his Dad's Nazi past to assuage rumors, but never discusses what his father's participation meant. He also talks very sparingly about a failures and every time it's the same cliche "pulled myself up by my bootstraps" reaction.

Fun read

It’s soooo long. But, I did enjoy it, and I actually learned quite a bit. This book is full of little tidbits of historical info on totally random things that I had no idea about. Only Ahhnold could keep my attention for 23 hours.

I admire Arnold, the human (also the actor/body builder/Terminator).
And I am in awe of his perseverance, his intelligence and his grace.

I was pleasantly surprised with Arnold's autobiography. He's led a very active, interesting life filled with lots of successes in various industries--bodybuilding, movies, charity, business and real estate, and government. I found his mindset and mine are similar in terms of thinking outside-the-box, going big, and welcoming mistakes and failures to teach and further motivate. The last chapter is a short self-help guide from his own perspective and experiences, so he can and does back up all the advice he gives.

This was a long read but an easy one in terms of language, pointedness, and organization. And, of course, entertaining.

I only took off one star because, even though Arnold is quite transparent on many things, he seemed to be holding back quite a bit. I can understand that being the case, especially with family matters wanting to be kept private, and he does mention throughout how he keeps things to himself instinctively, but it would have been nice to read about more specifics and details instead of glossing over various times and activities.

After reading this book, I have more respect for the man. He's accomplished much more than I was aware of; he's always stood on his principles--whether disagreeable or not; his personal philosophies are admirable and something to reproduce in our own lives; and, he owns up to his own faults and shortcomings--things we all have.

For all these points, I highly recommend this book for a place on your own bookshelves. Happy reading!

By far Arnold Schwarzenegger is my best life Idol. This biography is one of the most inspiring out there. Arnold is the most successful immigrant in the US. His success is no by accident or being lucky, all It was because of his daily vision, hard work, and hunger to conquer the world. One advice that I´ll take with me is if want to be a successful man I´ll need to take care of my Body, Mind, and Spirit.

Just remember, you can't climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets. -Arnold Schwarzenegger