Arnold Schwarzenegger planned the release of his autobiography, Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story, the way Gen. Eisenhower plotted the D-Day invasion. Although Arnold is full of backslapping bonhomie, he is an immensely calculating man, and he controlled everything that happened, building publicity day after day until he appeared on 60 Minutes Sept. 30, the evening before the book’s release.

To get Schwarzenegger to sit down for lunch with me in Beverly Hills before the book’s publication, I had to promise not to divulge the contents of our conversation until he appeared on the CBS program. I had written his biography, Fantastic, in 2005, but I hadn’t seen him for several years. He looked far smaller than the legendary Arnold of bodybuilding and movie days. His famous features now appear less like a face than an image on a medal or a copyrighted product.

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