lionheart books

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.

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

About the Author:

Wendy Leigh is the New York Times bestselling author of Prince Charming: The JFK Jr. Story, The Secret Letters of Marilyn Monroe & Jacqueline Kennedy - also a play, which premiered in America - and True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, and co-author of Life with My Sister Madonna. Her other biographies include Liza: Born a Star, Arnold: An Unauthorized Biography, Edward Windsor: Royal Engima. She ghosted Zsa Zsa Gabor's autobiography, and her first book, What Makes A Woman G.I.B. (good in bed) was published when she was 25.

Leigh is a journalist who began her career at BBC in London and whose articles have appeared in publications such as People, The Sunday Times, The Times, The Guardian, The Observer, The Daily Mail and more. She divides her time between London, Los Angeles and New York.