Leamer, who has written extensively on the Kennedys, turns his attention to Kennedy-by-marriage Arnold Schwarzenegger with this biography, which is based on first-hand access to both the California governor and his wife, Maria Shriver.
Critic Reviews
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Favorable
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The Economist
To his credit, Mr Leamer does not dodge the issues that Mr Schwarzenegger's PR people would like to airbrush out of the picture.
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Favorable
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The New York Times Book Review Lou Cannon
[A] balanced and insightful biography.
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Mixed
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USA Today Deirdre Donahue
Fantastic is not fantastic all the time.... There is simply too much information on bodybuilding, Sly Stallone, action flicks and California politics.
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Mixed
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Wall Street Journal John H. Fund
[Leamer's] book is not hagiography.
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Mixed
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The Spectator Frederic Raphael
Laurence Leamer’s low-down becomes a pedestal on which Arnie’s occasionally lovable hunkishness is jacked up even higher.
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Mixed
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Washington Post Peter Schrag
One of the strengths of Leamer's book is his awareness of Schwarzenegger's arrogance, his dependency on adulation, his will to dominate.
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Mixed
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Daily Telegraph Nigel Farndale
Although this biography is sympathetic, it is not sycophantic.
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Mixed
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Publishers Weekly
His book is not fantastic, but it's well researched and moves along at a pleasantly robotic clip.
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Unfavorable
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Daily Telegraph Robert Hanks
Leamer comes over as sycophantic.
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Terrible
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The New Republic
Schwarzenegger's sexual peccadilloes... provide Leamer many opportunities to ply his craft as an excuse-maker.
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Terrible
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Los Angeles Times Richard Schickel
These desperately humorless pages will send any reasonably sentient reader into the streets, barking like a dog.
[17 July 2005, p. R3]
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Terrible
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Kirkus Reviews
Leamer halfheartedly dresses this cocky suprahuman in an underdog's cloak of self-deprecation, shilling anecdotes about Schwarzenegger's crippling need to be admired.
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