One of the most anticipated autobiographies of this generation, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Total Recall is the candid story by one of the world’s most remarkable actors, businessmen, and world leaders.
Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story:
Born in the small city of Thal, Austria, in 1947, Arnold Schwarzenegger moved to Los Angeles at the age of twenty-one. Within ten years, he was a millionaire businessman. After twenty years, he was the world’s biggest movie star. In 2003, he was elected governor of California and a household name around the world.
Chronicling his embodiment of the American Dream, Total Recall covers Schwarzenegger’s high-stakes journey to the United States, from creating the international bodybuilding industry out of the sands of Venice Beach, to breathing life into cinema’s most iconic characters, and becoming one of the leading political figures of our time. Proud of his accomplishments and honest about his regrets, Schwarzenegger spares nothing in sharing his amazing story.
Oho! What gift is this from the celebrity gods, floating down on to the Lost in Showbiz desk? Why, it’s Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 650-page autobiography, Total Recall – My Unbelievably True Life Story. While LiS is dismayed to lose its long-running bet that the title would be I Told You I’d Be Back – And I Am!, the subtitle does provide consolations with its pleasing similarity to Gary Shteyngart’s tale of a plucky immigrant in America, Super Sad True Love Story, but Arnified. Thank you, celebrity gods! Tools down, everyone – it’s a Lost in Showbiz book group special.
The first thing to say is that this is not a celebrity autobiography. Trust me, I have a degree in celebrity autobiographies from TMZ.com University, and this is not a contribution to that noble genre. No, what Arnie (anyone who suffered the film Junior has earned the right to such familiarity) has done is write a political autobiography, which is a very different beast. A celebrity autobiography drips with gossip and humility, with the subject detailing at length their failings only then to end on a note of happy redemption and rehab, with positivity about the future