The wild rush of action in this classic frontier adventure story has made The Last of the Mohicans the most popular of James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales. Deep in the forests of upper New York State, the brave woodsman Hawkeye (Natty Bumppo) and his loyal Mohican friends Chingachgook and Uncas become embroiled in the bloody battles of the French and Indian War. James Fenimore Cooper’s historical imagination is profound, his creative use of the gothic landscape is uniquely American, and his influence on plot and characterization in American fiction is pervasive and extensive.