Heart of a Pagan

I thoroughly enjoyed Heart of a Pagan. It taught me that "religion" is valuable, where the object of worship is one's own highest potential, and enjoyment of life here on earth.The contemporary setting of the plot was right-on: the struggle between religion and its anti-life, anti-pleasure, anti-success hair-shirt versus living as pleasure-seeking humans according to our own potentials. Religion, with all its ugliness, is trying to make a comeback in America (and the world). I enjoyed seeing Swoop challenge that orthodoxy in a very real, concrete and believable way set in an American small town.Although I enjoyed seeing Christianity on the run, I mostly enjoyed seeing the positive ideal of a Greek hero in Swoop. Noble in body and soul, by living for himself, he lives for the best within all of us. That is an ideal I want to live up to, and feel more inspired to do so by this book.Congratulations to Andrew Bernstein for an excellent first novel. I can't wait for the next one!

*Heart of a Pagan* is not Ayn Rand's novel. It is not Victor Hugo's novel. It is not Mickey Spillane's novel. *Heart of a Pagan* is Andrew Bernstein's novel. If you have heard Dr. Bernstein lecture in his fields, philosophy and literature, you know he is a passionate valuer. That is the theme of the story, setting objectively high goals and taking action to achieve them, here on earth, in this life. The narrator, who is also one of the characters in the story, is a mental and physical cripple at the beginning of the story. As it progresses, he faces both handicaps (they are connected). He sets his goals, takes action, and pays a high price. The central character is a young man who pursues intellectual and physical goals with zeal. He reads Greek and loves playing basketball, always to win. As a student crusading in a small town, he aims to restore the "pagan" virtue of striving for excellence, despite opposition from the Christian community's on-going campaign for pity, humility, and self-denial. Beyond its vivid characters and accelerating plot, the novel's strong point is thematic integration. A few examples are: changing oneself and changing society too; seeking the physical and mental heights of one's capabilities; defining dreams and facing realities. When I received the novel a few weeks ago, because of a short-term personal need, I promised myself that I would read it slowly, savoring it day by day. By the third day, I had forgotten my promise. I read at full speed. This is Dr. Bernstein's first published novel. It is semi-serious fiction in that it deals explicitly with fundamental ideas, but in the manner of a philosophical swashbuckler. For some elements of style, it has rough edges and room for growth. However, in its essentials, it is superior to the stories of other contemporary writers such as pop-fiction writer Robert Parker, whose "Spenser" novels I have collected, read several times, and recommend for their sense of life, not always their ideas. *Heart of a Pagan* is Andrew Bernstein's novel. It shows his interlocked world of sports *and* philosophy, his exuberance, and his passionate pursuit of values. As myself the author of a nonfiction, intellectual adventure story, *The Aristotle Adventure: A Guide to the Greek, Arabic, and Latin Scholars Who Transmitted Aristotle's Logic to the Renaissance*, I know the personal value of writing and reading such stories. They sustain and inspire. For those benefits, in the category of first novels, *Heart of a Pagan* deserves five stars.

Heart of a Pagan is masterfully crafted story of a young man (Swoop) who, inspired by the pagan virtues that focus on personal excellence in both body and mind, sets out to lead a rural Midwestern college town's (Hoppo Valley) basketball team to a national basketball championship. Swoop has molded his body to physical perfection by studying the physiology of the human body. And he had become a superior high school basketball player by applying principles he has gleaned from the Greek Classics. Forgoing opportunities to play with any of the leading college teams, he sets his goal at propelling Hoppo Valley to the national championship. But in order to do this he must bring about a renaissance of glorifying excellence in accomplishment over pity at failure. Thus, the story develops as the conflicts inherent between Christian virtues and pagan virtues clash among the team's players and, also, among the religious factions of the town and those supporting Swoop. Just when it appears Swoop will achieve success, he suffers an injury diagnosed by the best sports medicine expert as putting an end to his basketball career.But will he let that happen? Are humans capable of creating their own miracles? What does it take to defy the experts? Bernstein's answers to these questions are what make Heart of a Pagan a compelling story.The theme is the greatness that is accessible to anyone who is willing to focus on his or her personal values and who refuses to be distracted by the unhealthy appeals to pity so typical of Christian morality. And this theme is developed by a plot that is a tightly bound integration of philosophical principles with basketball. The plot is action driven and I found myself unable to put the book down until the final pages. As its theme develops, one can't help but find the story to be an inspirational treasure. If you enjoy stories about heroes as much as I do, then Heart of a Pagan is a paean to the heroic that you don't want to miss.Victor H. MillerAdjunct Professor of PhilosophyCitrus College, Glendora, CAChaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga, CAMt San Antonio College, Walnut, CARiverside Community College, Riverside, CALecturer in Engineering EthicsCal Poly, Pomona, CA

This is the kind of passion and exhilaration you'll get from reading Heart of a Pagan. I'm reading it for the second time and am enjoying it even more than the first. For those who want to truly feel alive and healthy, maybe for the first time in your lives, read this book. For those who want to know what it means to make your value-pursuits a grand and sacred cause, read this book. For those who want to live with passionate physical and mental intensity, read this book. For those with no religion who desire a benevolent and spiritual approach to life, read this book. For those who need the courage to say "yes" to themselves everyday, to their dreams, values, and desires, well, you know what to do! The pace of this book doesn't slow down. I knew little about basketball or kinesiology, so it's good that it's written clearly and was easy to understand. The juxtaposition of religious meaning is brilliant and very inspiring. The narration is led by Digs, a crippled trainer for the basketball team, and carries us through his struggle to understand the worth of physical exercise and winning his one true love. Swoop, the hero of the novel, is relentless in creating a winning team. When those in the story want to crush him, he uses his intellect and cunning to overcome. The deeds and daring are very original. The messages in the book are primarily driven by the plot. I was shown (through the experiences of Digs) rather than told. If this book is at all "preachy," I wish more books had the same great "sermon" in them - we need to hear it and be reminded more often! Heart of a Pagan is a very exciting read. I read this in less than three days, and could barely put it down. You will read this and say to yourself, "Wow, I've been living a not-so-fulfilling life up until now. I shall run my life at full-throttle now and forever!". So don't just sit there and collect dust. Click that Buy button and go higher!

Friends of mine told me that this was a very good story and that they couldn't put it down. One woman said she found it so compelling that she read it in one sitting. Having read it, I now see why. The core of the book is the relationship between the hero -- a superstar athlete -- and the narrator -- a brilliant philosophy student but crippled trainer of the basketball team. To put it briefly, the relationship between them is powerful, moving and very special. There may be a few problems with this book, but its strong points so outweigh them that I consider it a must read. You will be inspired, and may never look at your life the same way again.