HEROES ranges widely across human experience, achievement and character. The biblical heroes Deborah and Judith appear along with King David and Samson. Mary Queen of Scots is contrasted with Queen Elizabeth I. There are inspiring national leaders, military geniuses and warrior-queens. On a lighter note, Lady Pamela Berry represents the heroism of the hostess and Jane Carlyle the heroic wife. He ends with three figures who dismantled the Soviet empire: Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II.