Have you ever been so muscular that your biceps helped you land movie gigs? This was the life of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Fantastic, an biography written by Laurence Leamer, describes Arnold Schwarzenegger’s experiences, struggles and how he overcomes them.

The book is split into different sections based on three main experiences that happened in his life: bodybuilding, movie acting, and politics. The first part of the book explores his bodybuilding experiences – an in-depth look at why he turned to bodybuilding and how hard he had to work to win the title of Mr. Universe. Arnold describes stories of how he would spend quality time with his friend, Franco, and his other bodybuilding friends, and how they would help motivate him to work harder. Arnold needed this motivation because every day he would be in the gym working out for five hours.

In the middle section of the book, Arnold’s movie career is chronicled. Schwarzenegger started out with many acting classes to beef up his brain and acting expertise to match his muscles. Arnold’s thick accent and strong muscles helped his popularity in the movie industry skyrocket. Arnold starred in popular movies like “The Terminator,” “Commando,” “Predator,” “Total Recall” and many other action films.

In the final part of the book, Leamer looks at Arnold’s political campaign and journey toward becoming Governor of California. Arnold used his popularity from acting and transformed this informal credibility into a way of showcasing his smarts. He proved himself noble, intelligent and capable of overseeing a large group of people.

Arnold has a natural ability to apply his skills to new areas in his life, therefore gaining even more skills. This ability is one of the major themes in the book, in addition to determination, hard work, and the value of friendship.

Fantastic is a great read for someone who is interested in bodybuilding, acting, and even participating in political campaigns. This book appealed to me personally because what Arnold does to his body and how hard he is willing to work to get there, is unspeakably impressive.