The Last of the Mohicans

By: James Fenimore Cooper

Narrated by: Larry McKeever

The Last of the Mohicans has all the elements of a classic frontier adventure: massacres and raids, innocent settlers, hardened soldiers, renegade Indians, and a doomed love affair. It is a memorable portrait of fierce individualism and moral courage. But what draws readers and listeners again and again to this panoramic novel is its deep insight into the symbols of American consciousness.

The French and Indian War adventures of Hawk-eye, a reclusive white woodsman, and his Indian friend Chingachgook have contributed much to the frontier mythos. The story of two men who are at odds with their own people, but reluctantly agree to guide two sisters through hostile Indian country, has found an enduring place in the literary and cultural history of America.

James Fenimore Cooper is widely acknowledged as the pre-eminent American writer of his time. The Last of the Mohicans is one of his most popular and critically acclaimed works. Larry McKeever's animated and skillful narration intensifies the novel's romance and drama and brings its tragic characters fully to life.

Public Domain (P)2010 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Want to relish your early American history, to thrill again at the suspense of forest dangers, to wonder whether Hawkeye will ever quite forsake the trail for a tender passage of love and domesticity? Then this book is for you." ( Chicago Sunday Tribune)

Passion of the French and Indian War

An engaging immersion in the French and Indian War, among the savagery of the Indians, caught between the powers of France and England. The story of the Mohican and the Delaware tribes, decimated by more than a century of contact with whites. Interesting characterization of Hawkeye and of his Indian brothers. Even the Huron villain is understandable. Better than any of the movie versions of the story, even though somewhat dated in style. Excellent narration.

Obviously a classic, but...

Really struggled to get into this book. Seemed long winded and hard to follow at times. Didn't get invested in the characters which is never good. The overall story seemed to be a good one, but I'd have preferred the cliff notes version.

classic

it's a long story, but it's a great many stories compiled into one book. there is a reason this classic has stood the test of time.

Not quite what I expected

This read a lot fresher than I expected from a book which is now almost 200 years old (although, note that the narrator reads the footnotes without any warning--at first, I thought Cooper must have been post-modern!). The most surprising and intringuing aspect was its temporal scope: the events of all 400 pages (14 hours) occur within just a few days. This means the pace of the story-telling is relaxed, even when the action is not, affording loads of detail and creating very effective suspense (reminiscent of Hemingway's _For Whom the Bell Tolls_). For the most part, this immersion keeps the reader fully interested, but sometimes it becomes tedious, e.g., the Homeric burial rites at the end. The most memorable scenes are those relating the shocking horrors perpetrated by American Natives, dubious tellings which obviously should now be taken with several grains of salt.

Outstanding tale and rendition

This was my first Cooper novel. He spins a wonderful adventure tale which greatly caught me by surprise. The rendition by the narrator is done excellently, as well.

aged style with a few timeless insights

style represents the bumptious provincialism of the time. kind of annoying. seems like he was a fan of Shakespeare and picked words out of the dictionary to make them rhyme. I think there were very good insights into the interactions of native and European cultures of the time. enjoyed this insight quite a lot.

Loved it!

Read at recommendation of Tim Ferris in his “Five Bullet Friday” that he publishes every week on line. Loved the book! A bit like listening to Shakespeare, but once my ears adapted, I was hooked.

Great Book

Great book and performance. Lots of static though in recording. So encouraging and illuminating of previous cultures.

Poor sound

Great book, but this is an old recording & has background hiss. Pick the $ 1.99 recording instead. Narrated by Larry Rudnicka (sp?)

Quite Simply A Most Wonderful Read

I thoroughly enjoyed this tale and I am very pleased I have it as an experience in my life. My satisfaction is due, in no small part, to the excellent skills of the author and the narrator. In this work, it quickly becomes evident that Mr. Cooper possesses a wonderful command of the English language in grammar, sentence and context structure. This skill is present from begging to end of his novel. His contextual structure is so strong that when the narrator makes a single error in pronunciation the error in no way interferes in the reader's comprehension of the correct word and meaning. Aside from that singular error, the narrator displayed a strong command and a smooth, flowing fluency of an English dialect long since removed from that of our present day English. I would say that the narrator has taken that which would be difficult language for most, if not all but a few, present day English speakers and made it easier that the listener may comfortably comprehend the story. I found the narration beneficial and therefore declare it worth the additional cost. The author's story structure benefitted the reader's imagination in every possible way. This is one classic for which I harbor no regrets for having dedicated my time.