Book excerpt: The life of Steve Reeves had three major parts: First there was Steve Reeves the ultimate, and in my opinion, incomparable world class bodybuilder. He won all the National and International bodybuilding titles without using steroids, artificial enhancers or unethical practices. Steve was hard-working and innovative. His sharp mind and determination mixed workouts with nutrition to create a magnificent male body. Next there was Steve Reeves the actor who filled our movie theater screens with sensational, larger than life portrayals. He played the lead in fifteen movies including Hercules, The Thief of Baghdad, Duel of the Titans, Son of Spartacus, and Goliath and the Barbarians. His personal favorite was Long Ride from Hell - his only Western Last there was Steve Reeves the rancher, horse breeder and author. Steve was never deluded about being a great actor. He made movies in order to build a nest egg which enabled him to own and enjoy a couple of ranches back home in the Western United States. Ranching was always his first love and passion. This Steve Reeves was mostly out of the limelight. He spent his time hard at work digging post holes and breeding gaited Morgan horses. This book is about my life with Steve Reeves, the rancher, during the last seven years of his life. It is written from the perspective of a woman who was (and will always be) deeply, madly in love with Steve Reeves I am writing these memories down now due to concerns that dementia, the disease which has devastated my mother's mind, may be germinating in me. It is a case of "before I forget what I can still remember." I have relied heavily on my personal journals to bring focus to that which the passage of time, my series of small strokes and what might be dementia, has fogged. I do not want the memory of my Stephen (Steve Reeves to millions of fans) to dissolve and become forever lost. He was such a remarkable man. Once I knew him, I would never be the same. Steve Reeves was more than just an actor with a powerful physique. He was quite brilliant. He would examine a machine, tool or product and then explain how he would change this part or that aspect to improve its function. He used a complex combination of his natural creativity with his work experience and logic to improve the workings or the designs of many things. Experiencing first hand his ability to improve on every-thing that arrived on the ranch (from a brand-new Featherlite horse trailer to halters and toilet roll holders) made me wish his fans could realize how much more there was to their Steve Reeves. His face, his physique, his movies and his voice were only a small part of the total man. Add to those attributes, among other things, his expert knowledge of physical training and nutrition. His work ethic was unsurpassed and his determination to improve the Morgan horse breed was tragically interrupted. (Black and White Version)