"Arnold - The Education of a Bodybuilder" by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Douglas Kent Hall is an autobiographical account of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who grew up to become the world's leading champion bodybuilder. The autobiographical account is supplemented by detailed training schemes for prospective and expert bodybuilders based on Arnold's own routines, which brought him to the forefront of this sport. Also included in the book is a portfolio of studio photographs of Schwarzenegger's superlative physique, as well as many other pictures of leading bodybuilders, against whom he competed and won in his rise to fame.

The autobiographical account begins when Arnold is fifteen years old, growing up in the small town of Graz in Austria. He is sent to a bodybuilding gym by his soccer coach to build up his leg muscles and there experiences an epiphany when he realizes that this is what he wants to do with the rest of his life. The account of his remarkable rise to the top of his profession details the resistance of his parents, going AWOL from the Austrian Army to win his first trophy, his initial disillusionment in Munich and his first international contest in London.

As his professional career unfolds, Arnold simultaneously develops his own unique training methods and quickly focuses on the importance of the mind in achieving his goals. Quick to learn from the other champions in the sport, he learns the showmanship aspects of the exhibitions and the underlying business principles governing the commercial success of the sport.

A major defeat in Florida, when he takes a second place in the Mr. Universe contest to Frank Zane, leads to his commitment to train in America, and this decision is a watershed in his life. The account of his eventual world dominance in the sport ends with his realization that his initial youthful goals have all been realized and his interest in other challenges, such as movie making and show business, now begin to take over his life. The break up of his first real love relationship coincides with this change in direction in his life's ambitions and is a poignant reminder that this book is only the first part of the life of this remarkable man.

Lavishly-illustrated photographs of bodybuilder poses predominate over the more personal ones of Arnold's friends and family, where the reader is only given glimpses of what must have been an equally fascinating story. The second half of the book is a thorough, detailed and a well-illustrated account of the training schemes devised by Schwarzenegger and is based on his lifetime's experience in competitive bodybuilding.

Throughout the book the elegant prose contributed by Douglas Kent Hall never intrudes on the overall exposition. It is always the voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger, his sincere enthusiasm for his sport and the frank depictions of his defeats and triumphs, which engage the reader.

The first edition of this book appeared in 1977, and the copyright was renewed in 2005, coinciding with Arnold Schwarzenegger's bid for the governorship of California.