The Last of the Mohicans (The Classic Collection) [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

James Fenimore Cooper (Author), Bill Weideman (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 25, 2005

The Last of the Mohicans is a story of romance and adventure on the American frontier. It is a story of love and loyalty, and of America's coming of age. While the French and Indians besiege Fort William Henry, Cora and Alice Munro, daughters of the English commander, are on their way to join him. They are accompanied by Major Duncan Heyward, Alice's fiance, and by the treacherous Indian Magua, who secretly serves the French. Magua plans to betray the party to the Iroquois, and to claim Cora as his squaw, but he is foiled by the scout Hawkeye and his companions, Chingachgook and his son Uncas, who deliver the girls to their father. After the fall of the fort, the girls are given safe passage by the French, but Magua captures them and they become prisoners of the Indians. To rescue Alice and Cora, Hawkeye and Uncas lead the Mohicans against the Hurons, an action filled with unforeseen consequences for all of them.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This novel remains the most popular of Cooper's 'Leatherstocking Tales', a classic story of the French and Indian War. The battles and exciting pursuits, which constitute the book's plot, are rounded out by interesting Indian lore and descriptions of the wilderness. --Masterpieces of World Literature

The beauty of the unspoiled wilderness and sorrow at its disappearance, symbolized in Hawkeye's Mohican Indian friend, the last of their tribe, are important themes of the novel. --Merriam Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature

[Cooper's] worldwide fame attests his power of invention, for his novels have been popular principally for their variety of dramatic incidents. . . but. . . [there has been] a revival of interest in their creation of tension between different kinds of society. . . between civil law and natural rights as these suggest issues of moral and mythic import. --The Concise Oxford Companion to American Literature

[Cooper's] sympathy is large, and his humor is as genuine--and as perfectly unaffected--as his art. --Joseph Conrad --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

About the Author

James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) was an American novelist whose works include The Last of the Mohicans, The Prairie, The Pathfinder, and The Deerslayer, collectively known as The Leatherstocking Tales.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridged; Unabridged edition (July 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597371351
• ISBN-13: 978-1597371353
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,525,370 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Leatherstocking Tales: The Last of the Mohicans, July 15, 2008

By 

The Pete (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Last of the Mohicans (Signet Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is Cooper's masterpiece, especially if you measure by popularity. His second installment in the Leatherstocking tales does quite a bit to deserve its reputation. This book was likely written to delve into the backstory of Natty Bumppo and Chingachgook, the characters that emerged as, by far, the most interesting ones in Cooper's first Leatherstocking tale ('The Pioneers').

Due to it's tight pacing, 'The Last of the Mohicans' is easily the best read of the five Leatherstocking Tales. It is also the most consistently plotted and paced book of the series because, as a tale of betrayal, flight, captivity, and frontier warfare, Cooper has a lot less time to indulge in his stately prose (although you'll still need to use a machete to cut through some mile-long sentences!).

'The Last of the Mohicans' has all the physical confrontation that makes for a great adventure story. There are plenty of battles and a pretty extraordinary level of violence considering the time the book was written (kids getting murdered, rotting corpses, and plenty of scalps a-flying). The novel isn't gleefully graphic, but Cooper makes no bones about the

tenuous hold people had on life on the frontier. Considering his usual penchant for rank sentimentality, he's surprisingly detached about the violence he depicts in this book. To me this is evidence that he definitely knew how to shut off the histrionics.

Another reason for the success of the book are the characters. Leatherstocking (going by Hawkeye here) is in his prime as a hero/scout. He is authoratative, brave, cunning, and always knows what to do. Chingachgook is powerful, unpredictable, and savage. However, he takes a backseat to his son Uncas. While Cooper gives Uncas little dialogue, Cooper gives us a very clear picture of what makes him a hero and what motivates him. Cooper's writing, overall, shows an uncharacteristic level of restraint in this regard.

A bigger surprise was the character of Cora. Generally, Cooper is incapable of handling female characterization without building a nauseating shrine to the 'gentle sex.' As a result, it is all the more refreshing to find Cora outspoken, resolute, and strong. During one sequence when several characters are imprisoned by the Iriquois, it is she - not her 'brave male protector' - who remembers to leave a trail in the forest so they can be rescued.

On the other side of the fence, Le Renard Subtile is the best villian of the series by a long shot. Even though you hate him, you can't help but sympathize with him to a certain degree. Cooper skillfully (and without preaching) uses the tragedy of Indian displacement as Magua's motivation. Though it's hard not to feel Magua's anger is justified on some level, Cooper prevents you from rooting for his villian and this creates some interesting tensions.

As with many of the Leatherstocking tales, victory is bittersweet and is necessarily a defeat for the wilderness Hawkeye loves. The fate of the Mohicans clearly foreshadows what Cooper (and the reader) knows will become of every Native American in this tale (or in real life). Comparing these charcters to their latter selves in 'The Pioneers' underscores this very emotionally.

You can definitely enjoy 'The Last of the Mohicans' all by itself and as a straight-up frontier advernture, but there is more to be found if you read it a little deeper. It is a book every American should read. NOTE: Please don't hold the dreadful Daniel Day Louis movie against this book; the two have little in common beyond their titles.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most exciting and fast-paced of the Leatherstocking Tales, June 8, 2009

By 

C. T. Hunter "chips_books" (Gainesville, FL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Last of the Mohicans (Signet Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

Set during the French and Indian War, THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS follows Cooper's renowned hero Natty Bumpo (known here at "Hawkeye" or "the scout") on an adventure to rescue a couple of well-bred daughters of America from a hostile Indian tribe and their treacherous leader Magua (or Renard Subtil). Compared to Cooper's other work, this one is a non-stop thrill ride, with plenty of intense and fast-paced action mingled in with his usual overly-verbose descriptive style. Because of that, this is my favorite of James Fenimore Cooper's novels, and I'd recommend it for any reader.

As a piece of historical fiction, this one again stands out as being superior to his other works. With the focal point of the setting being around the armies and officers of the French and British empires right smack in the middle of the French and Indian War (or Seven Years War if you're not from America), this story is grounded in a well-known historical perspective. Some of the events related in this novel also have strong backing in historical facts. From the individual battles described to the extremely messy and downright horrifying massacre after the surrender of General Munro to the French, Cooper's tale is based on real life occurrences.

Refreshingly, Cooper doesn't shy from portraying the Native Americans in THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS in a less than flattering manner. While described as complex and admirable in some instances, in others the Indians here are brutal, crazy, and downright savage. Even the "good Indians" here, in Chingachkook and Uncas, don't fail to retrieve the occasionally scalp when the opportunity presents itself. The strangeness and brutal-seeming practices of many Native American tribes are well-known historical facts, and it is nice to read a book that doesn't sugar-coat or justify Indian practices for the sake of political correctness.

While its not the easiest book in the world, this one should be enjoyable for nearly every type of reader. Highly recommended.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, November 25, 2007

By 

Richard "Traveler" (USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Last of the Mohicans (The Classic Collection) (Audio CD)

This was an excellent book that was different from the Hollywood version. Although I liked the movie, I was amazed to find out how much they changed the story. The book offers much more insight into the characters and explains the rest of the story. The narrator does a great job with different accents, languages and genders. Very enjoyable.