Arnold Schwarzenegger's Top Book Recommendations

Actor, Politician & Businessman

Want to know what books Arnold Schwarzenegger recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Arnold Schwarzenegger's favorite book recommendations of all time.

1

California

A History

California has always been our Shangri-la–the promised land of countless pilgrims in search of the American Dream. Now the Golden State’s premier historian, Kevin Starr, distills the entire sweep of California’s history into one splendid volume. From the age of exploration to the age of Arnold, this is the story of a place at once quintessentially American and utterly unique.

Arguing that America’s most populous state has always been blessed with both spectacular natural beauty and astonishing human diversity, Starr unfolds a rapid-fire epic of discovery, innovation, catastrophe,...
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Recommended by Arnold Schwarzenegger, and 1 others.

Arnold SchwarzeneggerIf anyone is at all interested in a book about California, what makes California unique and special, and the history of it, the political history of it and all the little details, [this is] a good book to have. (Source)

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2

Free to Choose

A Personal Statement

The international bestseller on the extent to which personal freedom has been eroded by government regulations and agencies while personal prosperity has been undermined by government spending and economic controls. New Foreword by the Authors; Index.
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Arnold SchwarzeneggerThe other book that I have given hundreds of copies to is Free to Choose by Milton Friedman. It kind of lays out why the private sector is really the answer to a lot of problems that we have and not government. I think it’s a real great philosophic kind of a book about how to approach our problems, if it is education, if it is economic growth, all of those various kinds of different issues. He... (Source)

Grover NorquistWith Free to Choose, the title summarises it. He deals with vouchers in education and the whole idea of what we’re promoting. This goes back to the argument on the science stuff. We’re not for freedom because it brings economic growth. We’re not for freedom because it brings technology and improvements in standards of living. We’re for freedom because we’re for people being free. It also happens... (Source)

Mitch DanielsI chose this book because it expressed best to me the moral underpinnings of free economics, if one starts from the premise that the highest value is the autonomy and dignity and freedom of the individual. (Source)

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'He writes with gusto... the result is a book that is never boring, genuinely clever... this book sizzles.'
The Times

'The point of the Churchill Factor is that one man can make all the difference.'

Marking the fiftieth anniversary of Winston Churchill's death, Boris Johnson explores what makes up the Churchill Factor - the singular brilliance of one of the most important leaders of the twentieth century. Taking on the myths and misconceptions along with the outsized reality, he portrays - with characteristic wit and passion - a man of multiple...
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Recommended by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Benedict King, and 2 others.

Arnold SchwarzeneggerThere’s one book that I’ve given that it was just Christmas, that I’ve given away a lot of copies. This is a book about Winston Churchill by Boris Johnson. A very talented guy. (Source)

Benedict KingJohnson’s thesis is that Churchill may have had faults and made mistakes, but on all the big issues he called it right and that, as a politician, he had a unique combination of personal qualities – bravery, industry, eloquence and, when necessary, ruthlessness – that put him in a league of his own. The subtext bubbles up from every page: The Churchill Factor: Why I Have it in Spades. (Source)

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