Arnold: The Early Years (The Unauthorized Biography‪)‬

With three New York Times bestsellers under her belt, on October 1, 2012 – the very same day as Schwarzenegger is set to release his official autobiography – Leigh readies herself to take on the Terminator and his team once more with the e-book issue of “Arnold: The Early Years” – the update of her notorious 1990 book, “Arnold: An Unauthorized Biography.”


Based on years of research on both sides of the Atlantic and scores of personal interviews with Arnold’s colleagues, lovers, relatives, childhood companions, friends and rivals, Wendy Leigh’s definitive unauthorized biography, “Arnold: The Early Years” reveals a startling portrait of a man who has allowed nothing to stand in the way of his meteoric rise to the top.


“Arnold’s autobiography shows Arnold as he wants to be shown,” says Leigh. “My book reveals Arnold’s past as it really is. I broke all of the stories about him long before anyone was prepared to listen, and I was ultimately vindicated in the end.” 


Focused on Schwarzenegger’s early years, “Arnold: The Early Years” is a fascinating roadmap of how one man’s talent, drive, bravado, charm, determination, and opportunism have brought him to the upper echelons of Hollywood and American politics– and how those same traits have proven to be his downfall.


Meticulously researched, unutterably juicy and a must-read for Schwarzenegger fans and foes alike, “Arnold: The Early Years” explores:

• From small-town gyms to celebrity mansions: the no-holds-barred story behind one young European immigrant’s meteoric rise to become one of the most powerful men in America

• Arnold’s long-standing feud with Sly Stallone – how Stallone acted as Leigh’s ‘angel’ and ‘deep throat’ while she was writing “Arnold “(“He helped me find an agent, got me advice from a security firm, and fed me information, all of which I fact-checked obsessively”)

• The tortured family dynamics, drug use, cruel practical jokes and manipulation tactics behind the muscle

• The courting of Maria Shriver, the mistresses and more! The down and dirty details of Arnold’s infidelity throughout the years

• Behind the scenes of Arnold’s rise to Hollywood fame: how, despite a thick accent and little experience, he became the most sought-after action star in the world and Governor of California


Praise for Wendy Leigh’s ARNOLD:


“I owe a special debt to the biographers that came before me: Wendy Leigh for her remarkable research into Schwarzenegger’s early life and career – greatly aided by something I lacked, a fluent command of German – which resulted in her excellent ‘warts and all’ 1990 book, Arnold: An Unauthorized Biography.”

 -- Author of “The Governator” (Harper Luxe, 2010), Ian Halperin


“He (James Willwerth, a Time reporter for 23 years) adds, after checking out her [Wendy Leigh’s] research using her thirty-four pages of source notes in the back of Arnold as a guide, “I came away with respect for her thoroughness. It was very well reported. My nose told me it was on target.”

 -- “Strong Arming the Hollywood Press,” Neil Koch, The Columbia Journalism Review, February 1991