Classic Starts®: The Last of the Mohicans Hardcover – Illustrated, February 5, 2008

It was definitely a good story.I havn't read this novel before.So interesting and engaging.I loved it and read it in one sitting.

This story was written almost 200 years ago and describes an era about 50 years previous to the publication date. As such, the style of writing is meticulous meaning that there is a lot of time and words spent on describing the physical surroundings, which also means that the story can drag a bit at times while the reader digests the exact coloration of the trees or the rush of water in the streams. However, it is a good story. The film with Daniel Day-Lewis is quite a good film and follows the book fairly well until the ending climax, which involves the demise of the bad guy as well as the reason behind titling this story "The Last of the Mohicans". I didn't have problems getting through the book even though I can sometimes have a short attention span since I did get wrapped up in the story and how it would turn out. Others who don't have that ability to concentrate on the story at hand might have more difficulties than I did. Some have commented about the 'racial overtones' of the story which I can postulate that this is merely a retelling of 'the way things were' at the time. I found no real problems with the portrayals of the various non-white characters since at the time the story is set, this is actually how they were. How could I know that - I don't but that's the way I see it. The non-whites are portrayed as savages at times, but only at the behest of the whites that have deluded them with empty promises, otherwise they are shown to be reasonable, human, and yes 'noble'.If there are those readers that insist on trying to apply today's morals and beliefs when they read this story, then this story is not for them. Reading is supposed to both inform and entertain and I believe that this book does both, but in order to fully absorb this, the reader must first both suspend their own prejudices and beliefs while also just being 'an open book' by accepting the basic premise and concepts in any story.

The flowery and ancient language, forces the reader to slow his pace and fully picture in mind the beauty of the settings, feel the tension of the conflicts and the sadness of the losses. I wish I had read this sooner.

This was a 1923 book. The main reason I bought it was bc of the illustrations by NC Wyeth. His son, Andrew, is a great artist, n I really like is paintings. In his day NC was also very famous. His illustrations in this book were great. So if you can get an illustrated book. I think you'd like it.As far as the book, it's a really good story, very interesting. And a good source of what the culture was like back then. Especially the attitude towards Native Americans. It would be interesting to know what Native Americans, as a group, would think about this attitude. Because they do call them savages. And they do describe a scene in a lot detail where the Indians slaughter a bunch of whites without acknowedging that whites were slaughtering Native Americans just as much and just as gruesomely.On the other hand, the story does describe the good traits of the Native Americans. And one of the two main characters, Uncas, is described in glowing terms. Of all the characters, he's described must glowingly, admirable, and as a person who you would most like to emulate. The other main character is Hawkeye, a white guy who lives in the woods with Uncas and his father, Chingachgook, also described in very glowing terms.This really isn't a spoiler alert bc this all happens very early in the book. What happens is the bad guy Native American kidnaps the two daughters of a British commander who's fighting the French commander, Montcalm, in upstate New York. The time period is before the Revolution. The rest of the book is about Uncas, Hawkeye, and the ancillary characters trying to get the two daughters back. Again not a spoiler alert bc this basic plot is outlined very early.I say it's a bit of a slog bc he writes in a very florid style, which sometimes makes it hard sometimes to figure out what's going on. But you get use to it. If you can get use to the sloggy parts, it's a really good story, you learn about the events and the culture back then, and you'll be glad you read it.

This book was written in the early nineteenth century and absolutely reads as such. This means additional patience and a different kind of focus are required to appreciate the work. If affected language, long-winded descriptions of forests and character tropes/stereotypes are not your cup of tea, you might be better off skipping this book. But, if you can make it through the aforementioned trials, you'll be rewarded with a look at how one of the earliest American novelists thought the rest of the world should (or possibly wanted to) see the nascent US. While the story for the 1992 film deviates noticeably on many specifics, the core of the plot survived the transition from novel to film and is possibly a better, more accurate realization of the tale Cooper told.Some examples of Cooper's prose:"Manifest no distrust, or you may invite the danger you appear to apprehend.""Does he think when a hunter sees a part of the creature, he can't tell where the rest of him should be?""[I]t should be remembered that men always prize that most which is least enjoyed. Thus, in a new country, the woods and other objects, which in an old country would be maintained at great cost, are go rid of, simply with a view of "improving" as it is called.""[H]istory, like love, is so apt to surround her heroes with an atmosphere of imaginary brightness."

It's a classic, but I found it quite hard to follow for the various names given to each person and location, along with the lengthy descriptions of minor events.

A story that will appeal to those interested in the period of the North American colonial wars, when Britain and France were in bloody conflict for control over what would later become the USA and Canada. Featuring the legendary woodsman scout Hawkeye, the backdrop of the tale is the vast area of forest and lakeland of (in present-day geography) up-State New York. During this period, it’s interesting to note that the various indigenous (ie Indian) tribes were in fact allied to the respective antagonists, the Hurons with the French and the Mohawks with the British. Although the book is undoubtedly an engaging and worthwhile read, it should be noted that it is written in an old-English style, which can, occasionally, be difficult to understand.

Setting aside the style of writing, which is rather heavy going and very typical of the time, the story itself is quite fast flowing and captures the difficulties and differences between the European newcomers and the native tribes that live of the North American lands and the disasterous consequences of one trying to control the other. Cooper does use a lot of stereotypes which now come across as not only disrespectful and inaccurate but outright racist and sexist but this is often the case with novels of the time and it does reflect the ongoing differences between the settler populations and native tribes, not to mention the ever present view that women are utterly helpless and need men-folk to save them from everything. These issues aside, Cooper's use of overly detailed descriptions does get a little laborious at times but does also help recreate the era and brings to life every aspect of the time, possible even a little too much.

This is the second book in the Leatherstocking Tales which spans an entire life of a single man: Natty Bumpo otherwise known as Deerslayer in the first book, Hawkeye in this one, Pathfinder in the third book and Leatherstocking in the ones to follow, or just Natty. The Deerslayer concentrated on the early years, his early twenties whereas in this book he has become an experienced scout, hunter and is known throughout the colonies as Hawkeye for his exceptional shooting ability with the rifle known as Killdeer, first obtained in the Deerslayer. Natty is now about 35 years old. Suffice it to say, he is now a man of renown. It starts when he is engaged in rescuing the daughters of Colonel Munro from the revengeful Magua who was whipped by Colonel Munro and swore vengence on the children of Munro. It also covers the time of Braddock's defeat after the loss of Fort William Henry. It discusses, in earnest, the decline of the Native American population in the East. It does this through the tale of Uncas the son of Natty's friend Chingachgok. Uncas becomes a kind of symbol of this decline, a brave warrior with great vigour, constitution and heart the story shows that the sun is beginning to set on the native peoples even though they are yet strong and vigorous.By far the best of the tales I have so far read, having read the first three. It is more dynamic than the other tales and the story moves forward quickly. It is again written in that old style of the 1800's which has its own character and is not unpleasant to read. I enjoyed this book a great deal.N.B. The Last of the Mohicans is very different from the film of the same name starring Daniel Day Lewis. In fact I would say the story of the original bears very little resemblance to the film.

Meandering, long-winded, and not worth the effort from the part I read. I’ve read many books with older writing styles, but this is by far the worst, not in terms of style but coupled with such a dreary pace and detail. I bought it and quickly regretted it. Download a sample first.

When Maurice Scully writes in a dense prose poetry mode he is top class but sadly his spare style weakens his work. The effort to ape Louis Zukofsky fails totally as Scully has very little subject matter. He showed huge promise in Five Freedoms Of Movement that has never been realised in more recent work. But a certain levity undermines Sonata as a great or good book. I feel Maurice Scully now needs to try a Joycean route to reveal the actual world he dwells in? Being Mr. Twee of Irish letters simply no longer cuts the mustard leaving only blurred lines. The sad thing is that Scully needed the dogma of Objectivism least of all his peers in Ireland.