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    The Last of the Mohicans
    The Last of the Mohicans
    The Last of the Mohicans
    Ebook584 pages8 hours

    The Last of the Mohicans

    By James Fenimore Cooper

    3/5

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    A gorgeously crafted edition of a great American classic—James Fenimore Cooper’s epic tale of frontier life during the French and Indian War, complete with lush tip-in illustrations.

    Chingachgook and Uncas are the last living members of the great Mohican tribe. Hawkeye, a colonial scout, is their companion and loyal friend. In the midst of the French and Indian War, these three will risk everything to lead the two daughters of a British colonel to safety through the battle-torn northern wilderness. When the girls are captured by the vicious Huron tribe, Chingachgook, Uncas, and Hawkeye determine to do whatever they can to save them—no matter the cost.

    This keepsake edition of James Fenimore Cooper’s acclaimed novel showcases magnificent illustrations by N.C. Wyeth.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster
    Release dateMar 22, 2016
    ISBN9781451685961
    Author

    James Fenimore Cooper

    James Fenimore Cooper was born in 1789 in New Jersey, but later moved to Cooperstown in New York, where he lived most of his life. His novel The Last of the Mohicans was one of the most widely read novels in the 19th century and is generally considered to be his masterpiece. His novels have been adapted for stage, radio, TV and film.

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    Reviews for The Last of the Mohicans

    3/5

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    • 2/5
      I am totally in agreement with Mark Twain about James Fenimore Cooper's literary "offenses" ... why describe a man as tall and thin when you can spend pages describing every feature from their eyebrows to their toes. Nary a drop of water nor a tree gets by without a vivid, unneeded description. This book has a lot of action (though some problematic as a product of the time it was written in...) but it was hard to get past Cooper's writing style to really get into the story. This is one case where I could see how a movie version would be an improvement over the book.
    • 1/5
      This is another classic that I will never read again. In fact, after the first 10-12%, I gave up on this book.

      No offense to JFC fans, but he just doesn't cut it for me. I usually like authors to be descriptive in their writings, but I think Mr. Cooper got too carried away with it.

      The next time I pick up a classic novel, I want to fall in love with it, not throw it in the fire.
    • 4/5
      This novel is set in 1757 during the Seven Years War when Britain and France battled for control of North America. It is very well written, with evocative descriptions of the landscape, and portrays the multi-faceted life of the various tribes of North American "Red Indians", depicting Native American characters in way in a way that no significant American had done before. There are, of course, still examples of the language of the time (published in 1826) that we wouldn't use today ("savages" vs. "civilised men"), but he portrays a rich variety of characters, including the central character, the young and heroic Uncas and his dignified father Chingachgook, and the villainous Magua; compared to these, the white European-American characters are much blander, particularly the sisters Cora and Alice, who are depicted as beautiful bland ciphers, as young female characters so often were in 19th century literature on both sides of the Atlantic. Between them is the figure of Hawkeye/Natty Bumppo, a white man raised by Delaware Indians, able to act as a bridge between the two cultures. The action of the novel revolves around the rescue of Cora and Alice from the clutches of the Hurons who have kidnapped them, and contains some impressive and violent set pieces, involving much scalping. There were passages where my interest waned, nevertheless this is deservedly an early classic of American literature.
    • 4/5
      No, I didn't care for this one much, I'm afraid. A main character who is white but lives among the Indians and so embodies the best of both worlds (the forest prowess of the natives but the moral and intellectual superiority of the white man), natives who are inherently lesser, but with two 'noble' exceptions, white soldiers who are brave but dumb and weak compared to that amazing main character, and two damosels in constant need of rescuing - blech. I will say that the ending was unexpectedly un-pat, which was a bit of a nice surprise, but not enough to save this one.
    • 2/5
      I had a hard time getting into this book. It is a very interesting plot but the manner in which it is written made it pretty tedious for me. I also felt like things dragged on a bit much.
    • 4/5
      The Last of the Mohicans
      by James Fenimore Cooper
      Published 1826
      Pages: 416
      Genre: Fiction, historical romance
      My copy: kindle/☊, narrated by Larry McKeever.
      Rating ★ ★ ★ 1/2

      Story of the Seven Year War of 1757. Frontiersman, Hawkeye and his Native American friend Uncas, along with David Gamut, the singing teacher, and Major Duncan Heyward, the group's military leader set off to rescue the two Munro sisters who have been taken captive. This author is one of the first to include Native American's in his writing and he does a good job of respecting their culture. There is the suggestion of interracial marriage in the story which would have been quite controversial and maybe also was the reason for his popularity. I think his book might have been one of the very first to make this suggestion. While it is a historical novel and also a novel about a people, there are some inaccuracies. The author's prose is not easy to read. Audio made it better and McKeever had a fine voice but the quality of the audio was poor. I had an echo and also the transitions were quite obvious. Twain criticized Cooper as being a spendthrift as far as his use of words.
    • 5/5
      Difficult to adjust to the writing style? No doubt. Patience required even then? Yes. Nevertheless an artfully and skillfully accomplished novel? Absolutely. This book is so descriptive and tedious in its setting because the merciless and rugged wilderness of N. American before colonisation and Europeans ultimately conquered it was in and of itself one of the primary characters in the novel, just as important as that of the Mohicans, their Indian foes, and the white settlers. While it's a work of fiction, in order to fully understand the tale, it forced me to educate myself on the history of the French-Indian War, most of which it appears I'd forgotten. I'd recommend this book to those interested in the history of colonisation of N. American and certainly anyone interested in Native American culture and the clash between it and the white settlers. A beautiful piece of work.
    • 1/5
      I hated the writing in this book. I slogged all the way through it, but I honestly don't recall much beyond tedium.
    • 4/5
      This is a difficult book to read. I only read it because I loved the moive "Lat of the Mohicans" with Daniel Day Lewis. The really interesting part is that some threads of the original are present in the movie. Some of the best lines in the movies are actually taken from the book. 
    • 3/5
      OK, let's start with what I enjoyed about this classic - great story and wonderful characters. In this book you really get a good mental picture of Hawkeye, the scout, and Uncas, the last purebred Mohican chief. You fall in love with Cora's heroism and you detest Magua as a treacherous villain. Now, what did I not like - the writing style! This book was so wordy and hard to slug through. Although I enjoyed all the conversations between the characters the descriptions were so tedious and peppered with footnotes. Toward the end of the book, I found myself fast forwarding through the footnotes - some of them were several tracks long! I can see why people love this book - what a great story! But does anyone like his writing style? Last of the Mohicans is the Last of Cooper's books for me!
    • 3/5
      The Last of the Mohicans opens with the journey of British Colonel Munro’s two daughters, Alice and Cora, from Fort Edward to Fort Henry amid the backdrop of the French and Indian War. For their protection they are escorted by Major Heyward Duncan and a Huron Indian (native American) named Magua. On their journey they are joined by David Gamut, a Psalmist; Hawkeye, a white scout who travels with Indians; and Hawkeyes’ companions Chingachgook and his son Uncas, both of whom are members of the once great Mohican tribe. Their trip soon goes horribly wrong, and they will be left to undergo an epic journey that lasts for the rest of the novel.The first aspect of this novel that will strike the modern reader is the amount of racial stereotyping that is present. The Indians are presented as always having a larger sense of the sights and sounds of the world around them than their white companions are capable of possessing, and the white people have a better understanding of human relationships, more empathy, and more civilized refinement than the Native Americans. There is even stereotyping present among the individual groups within the races as the French are untrustworthy and the Hurons are portrayed as duplicitous. However, if the modern reader is able to keep in mind that Cooper was writing with the cultural knowledge and understanding of his time period, I feel that there is still a lot to be taken and enjoyed from this novel.One thing that I liked about the novel was the theme of characters revealing their hidden strengths. There are several times during their ordeals that they encounter that the sisters, portrayed as dainty, civilized women early in the novel, are able to show strength, cunning, and valor. Another example of this is the aforementioned David Gamut. Gamut is a very weak character throughout most of the novel and is more interesting in singing Psalms than in carrying out the traits that would make him successful in the environment that he is travelling in; yet, when given the opportunity, he shows himself to be cunning and brave when necessary. This depth of character and character development made this novel more enjoyable for me. Within this development of these characters, Cooper reveals a strong central theme of brotherhood that can develop among companions. Scout, Uncas, and Chingachgook make for a strong mixed-race family unit at the outset of the novel, and they work as a team to be successful at many times in the novel. However, as the novel progresses, we begin to see them grow closer and work more closely with Haywood, Gamut, Munro, and the two sisters until the final climax when it becomes apparent how much the dynamic of brotherhood between characters has changed over the course of the novel. For me, that was the most brilliant part of this novel, and it made me glad that I had read it.However, while I am glad that I read it, I still cannot say that it was particularly brilliant or great. The writing was clunky at times, the racial stereotypes were there, and there wasn’t much that made me really think deeply about the human condition. Overall, I thought that it was a flawed novel with some positive aspects that helped to redeem it. I recommend it provided that the reader’s expectations aren’t too high.
    • 3/5
      This would've been a lot better book had they not interupted the action parts with long dialouge. Still, pretty good.
    • 5/5
      Such a timely work, I enjoyed twice as much -- it stands on it's own as a classic, and moreso to me as historic fiction. An enjoyable read. I read it in between two books about writing and it served as a good case study of character, plot, etc. Just after finishing it, I read Rita Mae Brown's "Starting from Scratch," in which she references it with regard to Cooper's showing such depth in the relationship between men (the Scout and the Sagamore and Uncas), while leaving the women (Cora and Alice) completely two-dimensional. In fairness to Cooper, the story was more about the men and their role, but a look at the women's (as well as the indian women's) personality could have added some interesting perspective. Finally, I enjoyed it in accompaniment to the genealogical research of my family in that area at that time. Great interaction between the three principal men. It's an adventure story, but Cooper makes you feel the Scout's heartfelt philosophy and Chingachgook's people.
    • 4/5
      It really isn't quite my kind of the thing but it is an interesting read. It's littered with things that show a lot about the world it was written in and the life on the frontier. The women seem to be there to be rescued and honestly I preferred the film rather than the story. If I had read it when I was in my teens I might regard it in the same way as Kim and revisit occasionally but while it's something I don't regret reading, it's not one I will be hunting up to add to the collection.It's very wordy, very detailed and a story that is more about the frontier than the people. I can see how it influenced many writers but I can also see how it is disliked by many people today.
    • 4/5
      My favorite of the series, when I read this it moved me greatly.One has to be in the proper mood to enjoy these books. A bit of romance, a bit of adventure, quite a bit of moralizing. I enjoyed them when I read them, but have no desire to read them again. I've since read enough history to realize just how fictional these are. If you read them for the adventure and the descriptions of the Northeastern woodlands, I don't think you will be disappointed. Sadly, the plot of each has sort of blended together and I can't remember the details of any.
    • 2/5
      I really did not enjoy this at all. The characters were one dimensional and the plot was boring as well as unbelievable. I understand that Cooper had a pretty high opinion of his writing but I don't think the books have stood the test of time.
    • 2/5
      When Michael Mann completed Last of the Mohicans, it was delayed for three months (and out of the profitable summer season) as someone introduced to him the concept of editing. Having trimmed the movie from three hours to less than two, leaving out important scenes and axing whole characters from the story, as well as killing others off early, he still managed to improve upon the original work threefold.Mark Twain has his own opinions which I will be wise to leave to him. They can be read here, in his subtly titled Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses. If you have the time, I suggest reading it, if only because any amount of time can be spent in worse ways than reading Twain. His essay is more concerned with the rather peculiar physics that dominate the Cooperian landscape. I, slogging through the book in front of a campfire reading by lantern light, disregarded these literary conceits in self-defense, preferring to focus the greater part of my mental energies on remembering where one of the characters has been for the last fifty pages or so.Last of the Mohicans is, by and large, an excellent story, when described to you by someone who has already read the book (or, sadly, seen the movie). Yes, the bad guy slips from the heroes fingers often enough that you assume he has a twirly mustache. Sure, it has a boat chase with canoes and the heroine gets kidnapped no less than three times. But the story’s there, and it’s interesting. It’s just a pity that Cooper has to be the one to tell it, in the sense that Cooper wrote American fiction the way that Charlotte Bronte would write a Western. Oh, the dialogue:Hawkeye, on noticing a sniper in the trees:"This must be looked to!" said the scout, glancing about him with an anxious eye. "Uncas, call up your father; we have need of all our we’pons to bring the cunning varment from his roost."Duncan, in the same battle:"That bullet was better aimed than common!" exclaimed Duncan, involuntarily shrinking from a shot which struck the rock at his side with a smart rebound.People did not talk like this in 1757, nor did they in 1831, nor will they ever. This is because Cooper’s characters are not actually humans at all, but wound-up automatons whose sole function is to carry the story through its various settings and plot twists. Even then, the greatest potential that these twists present are wasted: the relationships between Alice and Duncan, Uncas and Cora, are glazed over, as though Cooper wasn’t interested in anything that didn’t include gunpowder. Romantic subplots have instead been persistently stuffed into the work by zealous critics, likely in attempt to give high school English teachers new ways to torture their students with subtext.
    • 3/5
      Cooper claimed he could write a better book than most that were printed in the day, and this is the result of his efforts. It remains surprisingly readable, for such an early work, although compared to the refined movie it is a little bloated.
    • 1/5
      Very antiquated language. Too hard to read.
    • 3/5
      I picked this up at the local library for $1, so I thought, what the heck. I typically don't choose to read early American literature, so this was about seeing how well someone who predated Hawthorne, Poe, and Melville did. Not terribly well, actually. I had some inkling ahead of time that this was going to be about as realistic as Walter Scott (I made it a little ways into Ivanhoe as a child and tossed it aside). It's actually not that bad for about the first half or so, despite some pretty unlikely events and behavior on both the part of the whites and the Indians But then, about 2/3 of the way through, it starts to be pretty preposterous. It's not without its merits, I guess, but ultimately at this stage of American letters, we don't have a lot to be proud of. Fortunately, that was about to change (Emerson, Whitman, etc.)
    • 3/5
      I can't remember when I read this but it is a borderline "western" that I actually didn't hate, which is seriously saying something. This one provides an interesting perspective and I thought it was alright. I didn't love it and I wouldn't recommend it to just anyone, but it wasn't bad either.
    • 5/5
      A wonderful story. So much better than it's siblings.
    • 1/5
      Having to read this in high school is one of the things that made me think I hated to read. I'm sure there are those for whom this is their cup of tea, but it should never be inflicted on high school students! It seemed like it was about a guy who walked around in the woods for hundreds of pages. Granted, my experience with it might be different as an adult, but I don't see myself trying again with this one.
    • 3/5
      The title of the story pretty much sums up the main storyline. The Last of the Mohicans is surprise, about the last of the Mohicans. Well if you want to be technical, it's about the last two Mohicans, a Father and his Son, but based on the title of the story, you can pretty much guess what happens at the end. The story is centred around two sisters, Cora and Alice who are the daughters of a British General. They are travelling back to meet up with their Father at one of the British trading posts when they are betrayed by an Indian guide (antagonist) who is supposed to show them they way through the wilderness. Long story short, the girls are caught and then freed and then caught again (this happens multiple times) and during this whole time, the Mohicans and their friend, the Scout (I am assuming he is British as well) who are the protagonist of the story are in constant pursuit to rescue these two damsels from the perils of their captors - the savages.As with so many other classics that I've read in the past, the first couple of chapters are always the most laborious to read as it takes me some time to catch onto the idioms and the language that these books usually take. I often find that I am reading the same paragraphs multiple times in order to wrap my mind around what the author is trying to convey. Overall The Last of the Mohicans was a pleasant enough read. There were certain portions of the book that keep me going while other parts rather dragged (after the second rescue and capture, it got rather annoying), and my mind would start wandering. With a little dash of adventure and a smidgeon of romance, the story passed relatively quickly for the most part. If you are a lover of Classics then I would definitely give this book a chance, but otherwise, for most readers, I think time could be better spent elsewhere.
    • 4/5
      I think people get mad at this book because it is written in the romantic style. Of course there is lofty language, of course it is strewn with figurative language and idealistic undertones. In fact, that is what made the novel revolutionary (not to mention an unseen-before anthropologist's cultural relativity..sort of.) If you don't like sentimentalism...then don't read fiction from the romantic period in America. And by romantic I don't mean love, I mean a deference to natural surroundings and a higher appreciation for artistry and sentimentalism. The characters are well developed, believable in that larger-than-life way. There is a proper hero, a fallen woman, an epic grace to the way the story flows. War and adventure is at the forefront, and a there is a hint of travel, journey, experience. To anyone who understands why historic literature is the way it is, I recommend this four star book.
    • 2/5
      Probably better to stick with the movie version on this one.
    • 3/5
      Book on CD performed by William Costello
      3.5***

      The second (and most popular) of the Leatherstocking Tales is set in 1757, during the French and Indian wars. It’s an adventure novel and romance, featuring Hawkeye (a/k/a Leatherstocking, Natty Bumpo or the Scout), a white man who has adopted Indian ways. His “brothers” are the Mohicans: Chingachgook and Uncas. They weave through the lush landscape of upper New York, fighting to save Cora and Alice Munro, the beautiful daughters of a fort commander, from a treacherous Huron renegade, Magua.

      I’m sure this was assigned reading in high school, and am equally sure that I relied on the Cliff’s notes to get through the exam and didn’t actually read this classic American novel. As an adult I can appreciate the prose and the style of 18th-century writing, but it still frustrates me. For the modern-day reader Cooper includes way too much verbiage to get to the point.

      But if the reader can persist, s/he will find a tension-filled adventure – the chases through the wilderness, and major fights/battles are very suspenseful in places. And there is a significant message about the clash of civilizations as the Europeans fought over territory while ignoring the rights, wishes, livelihoods of the indigenous population. Cooper’s historical romance gave us many of the elements so common in frontier fiction: a loner hero, “noble savage” trusted companion, lovely heroines in danger, and a plot full of chases and epic battles. Looked at it that way, I am reminded of Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove.

      What surprised me most on this reading was Cora’s character. Her strength, intelligence, courage and willingness to sacrifice herself made her a much more complex character than the typical “helpless maiden in distress.”

      William Costello does a fairly good job of reading the audio version, though his slow pace at the beginning made me reconsider whether I wanted to keep listening. I think, however, it was more due to Cooper’s style of writing, than to Costello’s skill as a performer.

      I do have to admit, that the glorious cinematography and music score of the 1992 film, starring Daniel Day Lewis as Hawkeye, kept running through my mind as I read/listened. While that film has significant departures in plot from Cooper’s novel, it did make me think that I should probably actually read the book, so when our local university book discussion group announced this book in the lineup for fall, I immediately RSVP’d. I’m glad I finally read it, and am looking forward to the discussion.

    • 3/5
      Classic American stories are part of our lives. We read books on them, references in television series, and watch movies on them. But when we read the actual classic, we find that what we thought it was about is slightly different. The Last of the Mohicans is no different.James Fenimore Cooper wrote a classic that is read in most schools across the country. It’s the story of 2 young English women on a journey to see their father who is a leader in the British Army. With an escort of British military and one native scout they find themselves ambushed. They are saved by a scout and 2 other natives. The fighting amongst the French, English, and native tribes gives Cooper a plethora of material for an intricate plot.This proved to more difficult of a read than I remember from high school when I read it. Maybe it is because I’ve read so many more contemporary versions and watched movies. There are several scenes were the dialogue is only in French. Sorry, I know about three words in that language. Also, so much description was placed that I’d forget what was happening in the scene.Now, I have to admit how movies ruined Cooper’s book for me. The movie with Daniel Daye Lewis was great. I loved it. When I just reread the book, I was so disappointed because the storyline is so different. The book has Alice and Duncan in love. The move has Hawkeye and Cora. There are many other differences, but I would be spoiling the reading experience.If you have not read the book yet, try not to see any movies on it first. It will make the experience so much more enjoyable.Note: This book was free as a public domain piece of literature.
    • 3/5
      --May contain minor spoilers--This novel held a few charms, but none were sustained throughout. Although the plot is one of adventure and suspense, to the modern reader the prose and dialogue often come off as goofy at best. The multiple epithets for each character, for example, imply a sense of grandeur to the pageant that simply wasn't there. The sentence structure, the narrative voice, the epigraphs that preface each chapter and the dialogue all shared in this effect. I was initially entertained by Cooper's eagerness to please, but eventually groans and eye-rolls began to take their toll. The book is at its best when we're getting to know the characters. I became fond of Major Heyward, and much preferred his character to that of Hawkeye the scout. Hawkeye is likely meant to be portrayed as an amazing hero, but he starts out as a completely insufferable know-it-all. (Hawkeye becomes much more tolerable in the final third of the book, but by that point the book has other problems...) I enjoyed the banter with Gamut, the descriptions of the Munro family's love for and loyalty to one another, and the portrayal of Uncas's and Chingachgook's relationship. Magua makes a worthy foe.Memorably, whenever a character is engaged in a debate or is called upon to make a stirring speech, Cooper goes to great lengths to describe the rhetorical strategy, cunning, and eloquence that must be employed for the occasion. One is asked to hear the listeners of these speeches oooh and aaah as Cooper praises the words of his noble and ignoble characters. These speeches on the page, however, are never all that different from how he has any given character speak the most casual dialogue anyway. It's goofball stuff.Cooper asks for a heavy suspension of disbelief when it comes to the amazing prowess of Hawkeye, but even this does not prepare one for later chapters featuring characters infiltrating enemy villages by wearing... a bear costume. (There was also a brief moment of a character blending in with some beavers.) There are truly impressive moments in the book (the massacre outside the fort, for example) but having recently finished it I just can't take it seriously--I'm hung up on the complete cheese of the hero crawling around disguised as a gruff but domesticated bear and getting away with it. Only the experienced eye of Uncas can notice the subtle differences between this farce and the real thing! I read this book out of literary/historical interest, and I'm glad I read it. I enjoyed it at times, although maybe not for the reasons Cooper may have intended. My curiosity is now satisfied, and I will not be looking to read more Cooper.
    • 4/5
      Cooper's famous tale of the white scout Hawkeye (aka Natty Bumppo aka La Longue Carabine) who has forsaken the growing materialism of "civilized" society to live amongst the natives in the woods of 18th century New York offers what should have been a lively tale of adventure. The year is 1757, the French and Indian War rages in North America, both the British and French having their own Indian allies. The daughters of a British commander, Munro, must travel from Fort Edward to Fort William Henry, guided by a Huron whom their father trusts. That Huron, Magua, turns out to be an ersatz ally of the French commander Montcalm. Hawkeye and his companions, father and son Chingachgook and Uncas, rescue the daughters, Cora and Alice. They lose them to Magua and his band of Huron. They rescue them again. Then, when they finally arrive at Fort William Henry, it is nearly too late as the French have it under a ferocious siege. Munro surrenders the fort to Montcalm who lets the British troops retreat to Fort Edward. Magua has other designs and attacks and massacres the British, yet again kidnapping the Munro girls.The racial and gender views of the time are repeatedly brought forth in the narrative, and this is not just Cooper regurgitating beliefs from 100 years prior to his writing. In the preface, Cooper himself states that women should not read his book as they won't like it, it's too manly. On practically every other page, Hawkeye, while treating his two Delaware as of his own family, reminds his white companions and the reader that his blood has no cross, meaning no cross-contamination with native blood. After a dozen or so instances, it gets incredibly trying seeing it on the page again and again.Somewhere inside is a great adventure story, but you have to get through a multitude of asides, 18th century racial philosophy that is repeatedly placed in the reader's face and a density of language beyond the usual anachronistics of early 19th century literature. It still, however, retains its place in literary history as one of the earliest examples of the American novel.

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    The Last of the Mohicans - James Fenimore Cooper

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