Mathews, Joe

PERSONAL:

Married: wife's name, Anna. Education: Graduate of Harvard College.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Los Angeles, CA; Arlington, VA.

CAREER:

Journalist and writer. Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA, reporter. Previously worked at the Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, MD, and the Wall Street Journal, New York, NY.

WRITINGS:

The People's Machine: Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Rise of Blockbuster Democracy, Public Affairs (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Longtime journalist Joe Matthews is the author of The People's Machine: Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Rise of Blockbuster Democracy. In the book, the author recounts the actor Arnold Schwarzenegger's entry into politics during the 2003 Gray Davis Recall election for governor in California. The recall resulted in Davis being voted out of office and Schwarzenegger winning the election to become governor of California despite being a Republican candidate with liberal viewpoints, which would have probably denied him the Republican nomination if there had been a Republican primary and not a recall election. The author also recounts Schwarzenegger's problems within the political system once he was elected, as well as his eventual rise as a force within national politics.

"The People's Machine author Joe Mathews did his homework, interviewing hundreds of key players in this first-of-its-kind political earthquake," wrote Shawn Steel in California Republic. Steel went on to write: "The People's Machine is destined to be the classic definer of the Age of Arnold." Other reviewers also praised the book. In a review in Booklist, Vanessa Bush commented that the author "details Schwarzenegger's foibles and fumbles" in what Bush went on to call "a thoroughly fascinating book." An Internet Bookwatch contributor called The People's Machine "an excellent blend of in-depth analysis and biographical information."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, August 1, 2006, Vanessa Bush, review of The People's Machine: Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Rise of Blockbuster Democracy, p. 31.

California Republic, September 19, 2006, Shawn Steel, review of The People's Machine.

Campaigns & Elections, September 1, 2006, review of The People's Machine, p. 58.

Internet Bookwatch, November 1, 2006, review of The People's Machine.

ONLINE

Perseus Books,http://www.perseusbooksgroup.com/ (June 24, 2007), brief profile of author.