A Noble Friendship! Hawkeye, the colonial scout, and Chingachkook, the Mohican warrior are brought together by their love of the New World forests and their desire for peace between their races. Set against the exciting days of the French and Indian War, their story - heroically risking their lives to guide two English sisters through hostile territory battling the evil Le Renard Subtil - is a story of how trust and understanding can develop between people of two cultures.

It's difficult to know whether to rate books like this based on the story or on the adaptation. I've never read the original book and only vaguely remember seeing the movie when I was younger (I remember my dad watching it a lot). The only thing I really remember is some romance and a cave behind a waterfall. Anyway, in an adaptation like this, it's no surprise to find a lot more telling than showing, as the adapter not only needs to shorten the story but also explain things in simple language. I think it gets the overall story across fine, though without the depth the original would have. And most likely without some emotion. In the end, I felt like the main thing that was lacking was a real connection between Hawkeye and Chingachgook, considering that the ending makes a big deal out of their friendship.

What is especially difficult about reviewing or recommending this book, though, is that it's meant for kids, yet it's full of violence and death. I'm sure the original is more so, of course. But I can only imagine the illustrator's remarks about some of the illustrations he/she was asked to draw: "You want him being shot?" "So the knife should be bloody in this one?" "How many will be lying dead on the ground in this scene?" "Oh, she's about to be scalped? Taken away to be forced to be his wife? Sure, no problem." So in the end, I think I'd recommend this book be read with your kids, so you can talk about the harsh reality of life during wartime. ( )

Since I never managed to actually read The Last of the Mohicans, I read this seriously abridged book instead. Like all the others in the series, it is a 4x5 inch paperback, the print is not small, and half the pages are illustrations. I now have a general idea of the plot of the book and an appreciation for the fact that in 19th century fiction, having African ancestry (no matter how white the skin or how genteel the upbringing) is pretty much the equivalent of wearing a red shirt on an away mission for the starship Enterprise. Poor Cora, she could never have been happy anyway, right? smh.

Hawkeye, the colonial scout, and Chingachkook, the Mohican Warrior are brought together by their love of the New World forests and their desire for peace between their races. Set against the exciting days of the French and Indian War.