How the Terminator became the Governator

“Fantastic' is Arnold Schwarzenegger's favourite word. Reading through this insightful and balanced biography of the same name, you can understand why. Fantastic: The Life Of Arnold Schwarzenegger, by Laurence Leamer, Sidgwick & Jackson, €24.80.

A scrawny boy from a sleepy Austrian village who became the greatest bodybuilder in history. An immigrant with little English and less money who married one of the Kennedys and became the biggest action movie star in the world.