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Rating: 
Summary: Disapointment
Review: Arnold matters, according to the authors of Why Arnold Matters, because he is everywhere. Keep an eye on Arnold, they say, because he is like the ocean -- you don't want to turn your back on something that powerful. And they aren't talking about his super-strength, they are talking about his absolute success in everything he does. When Arnold decides to do something, consider it done.I don't know if I buy this argument, but it does make for interesting reading, even if, like me, you are not especially an Arnold fan. Certainly, Arnold has not let anything stand in the way of his goals. He went AWOL from the Austrian army to participate in a bodybuilding contest he couldn't get permission to go to. (Don't bother saying "no" to him.) He became the top bodybuilder in the world. He became a worldwide movie star. He married into one of the most powerful political families in the world. He was elected governor of the most populous state in the country and a world economy in its own right. At every step, people told him no, you can't do that. Your accent is too strong, you have the wrong political beliefs, you don't have the background, I don't want you to grab my body. Nothing stopped him. You have to admire his success. He has worked very hard and has been extremely focused in his goals. When he wants to become President, I expect he will be a formidable candidate. Why Arnold Matters has plenty of factoids and trivia tidbits, as well as extensive discussion of his movies and how they illustrate his life. Especially revealing are the interview excerpts from Maria Shriver, Arnold's wife. Even she seems awed by him, at times uneasily. He overwhelms everything in his path.
Rating: 
Summary: A man we'd better watch/a book we should read!
Review: Everybody knows Arnold Schwarzenegger is "larger than life" but Michael Blitz and Louise Krasniewicz have suggested, in their book, that Arnold is a giant for reasons we may not be fully aware of. Not only has he become a metaphor for just about everything Americans are into, he is a major political force whose "power" seems to come from a frighteningly effective image-machine. Who IS this guy? He's the guy you think of when you are trying to express how big or strong or powerful or celebrated someone is. These authors have written a fascinating book not so much about Arnold as about all of us and our hunger for some kind of hero. I loved the book. Why only 4 stars? Because the only 5-star book I've ever read is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens! Otherwise, I recommend this book, especially if you would like to read something that is definitely NOT ordinary!
Rating:
Summary: Disapointment
Review: I am about halfway through the book. It is strange and it makes me think the authors need to spend some time on the couch. They are obsessed with Arnold and try to tell the reader why the reader is too, whether he/she is or not! I don't think too many people need to read a book about not how, or why, but THAT Arnold is popular!
Rating: 
Summary: Unusual book
Review: I expected a political science-type book, but Why Arnold Matters is actually a pretty unusual "hybrid" book. It does not, as one reviewer seems to feel, have a "socialist" point of view! The authors show how widespread Arnold is in American culture. I was shocked to see how many ways that "Ahnuld" shows up in our every day lives and expressions. There are books already out there on celebrities, and plenty of biographies and pop-culture analysis, but this book presents Arnold ways that are just amazing. The fact that there is a debate in the Congress about whether to amend the Constitution to allow foreign-born Americans to become president is VERY interesting. The authors make the point that Arnold is, indirectly, a driving force behind that effort. Plus, Why Arnold Matters is really FUN to read!
Rating:
Summary: Overwhelming
Review: I made the mistake of reading all the reviews before reading this book. I think I agree, in part, with all of them! But what I don't understand, now that I've read the entire book, is how anyone could say this book is not fascinating!!! The extent to which Mr. Schwarzenegger has become part of our everyday language and life is incredible. The authors provide an impressive amount of evidence to show that Arnold matters because America has totally adopted him and invited him into every discipline, cultural area, political arena, and on and on. One reviewer wrote a negative review after having only read half the book. If I had stopped after just one or two chapters, maybe I would have wondered how to feel about the book, too. But the more you read, the more fascinating Arnold becomes, and the more frightening (to me) it is that Arnold's rise to national power seems inevitable. He may or may not be a good person or a good leader, but the fact that America is so obsessed with him is what this book is all about. The authors may also be obsessed with him, but that's what makes the book such a good case in point.
Rating:
Summary: Boy does he matter!
Review: I read the book and I read the reviews on Amazon. At first, I would have agreed with the reviewer who objected to the chapter on the Arnold dreams the authors had. But then I actually read the book. That happens now to be my favorite chapter. The authors included a selection of their dreams to illustrate how Arnold Schwarzenegger ended up penetrating not only the mass American and World culture, but also the very dreams of the researchers. The dreams themselves are a riot! And the authors' explanation and discussion of those dreams in the context of Arnold's effects on American culture is unique and really interesting. In addition, the book is filled with remarkable examples of how (and why) Arnold has become such a central player in our society. He's considered among the top- if not the top- Republican "player" in the U.S. right now, and the authors point to all kinds of ways in which Arnold's presence is felt in just about every corner of society. I recommend this book enthusiastically. I've withheld one star for one reason: I wish the book had pictures! But it's definitely a fun, strange, and worthwhile reading experience!
Rating:
Summary: An Attack
Review: This book is primarily an attack on Arnold and on Libertarian ideology written by two English Ph.D. types why think they know something but of course don't. The idea that Arnold matters is a no duh, while there are many books that are better bios of the Arnold then this one which sees Arnold as an icon and then attacks it.
If you don't like Arnold and are a socialist, you may like this book as it says what you want to hear. Arnold fans should look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: A great pitch for the terminator !
Review: You got to be a great Arnold Fan or a paid promoter to write such a book about the Great Terminator. I think that
in the next 2006 Gubernatorial election in California, the Democratic party should nominate the real American hero, the ferocious warrior, and the famous action figure the great "GI JOE" to run against the action hero and the terminator Arnold Schwartznegger!!
Why not GI Joe! The majority of people love entertainment and yearn to escape into fantasy land, because it makes their reality more bearable.
When people elected Mr. Schwartznegger, they actually believed that he is the terminator that would terminate unemployment, corruption, corporate control of politicians, fiscal disasters, crimes, diseases, sexual harassment, hunger, illegal drugs, athletes taking anabolic steroids, and poverty, and will eventually bring Camelot to California, after all his wife is a Kennedy!!
The people or the bewildered herd (as called by the media Guru Walter Lippmann) jumped on the Schwartznegger bandwagon and placed him in office. Shortly after, he borrowed like his predecessor more money to pay the State's enormous debt, he deferred the budgetary cuts until the 2004 election was over, and he even brought more elites and corporate control over California. He chose Mr. Warren Buffet the billionaire and George Schultz from Bechtel as his primary advisors, as well as many Republican pundits and elites to do the thinking for him. Mr. Schultz had even to divide his time between California and Iraq, in order to be of service to the terminator. However, Governor Schwartznegger repeatedly asserted himself as a savior and as Conan the Barbarian that will slaughter the evil dragon threatening our beloved state. He also regurgitated well his memorized and nebulous policies, and declared that he is no one's puppet!
GI Joe will make a great governor, because he is a real American hero. He is a native and will not require a constitutional amendment to run for president.
GI Joe has clear moral values and will not need classes in sexual harassment, because he has GI Jane beside him that would also make a great first lady. GI Joe won't claim that he is against special interest groups, then shortly after his statement, he would take contributions from them in order to get him elected and use them in his cabinet or as his advisors.
GI Joe will make a great Governor because he will protect us against any Bogey man that will threaten our security. He has a great record in killing all evil.
GI Joe will be a very honest Governor, because he can't hide the fact that he is a puppet/dummy, and everyone will know that the same people behind this present governor will also be behind him.
So dear democrats, please wake up your huge egos, take a clear stand, don't worry too much about losing your jobs, reclaim your party, stand for some kind of a principle, adopt some type of a moral value, repeat a canard to show conviction, and then nominate "GI Joe" for Governor in 2006. Do not prove that the present Governator is correct, when he called all of you "girly men."
Anyway, I wouldn't recommend this book for anyone unless you're starstruck or on Arnold's payroll !!
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