The second and most famous of James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales, The Last of the Mohicans (1826) stands as the quintessential American frontier novel.

Set in 1757, the novel depicts struggles between Europeans and colonists, Indians and whites, and nature and civilization, chronicling the quests and fates of a now-legendary cast of characters, among them Alice and Cora Munro, daughters of a British colonel; Magua, leader of a group of Huron Indians allied with the French; Uncas, "the last of the Mohicans" - and, of course, Leatherstocking, here called Hawkeye, Cooper's famed representation of the individual uncorrupted by civilization.

With this novel and its four companion volumes - The Pioneers, The Prairie, The Pathfinder, and The Deerslayer - Cooper fashioned a unique blend of historical romance, epic saga, and captivity narrative, creating a new form of fiction that was at once an original contribution to literature and a powerful influence on legions of writers to follow.

In The Last of the Mohicans: Civil Savagery and Savage Civility, John McWilliams presents an eloquently argued critical interpretation of the novel's merits and failings. Detailing the biographical, historical, and literary elements shaping The Last of the Mohicans, McWilliams equips the reader with indispensable knowledge through which to approach the novel.

In meticulously rendered discussions McWilliams addresses issues of style, genre, race, gender, and factual accuracy; surveys the literary traditions Cooper drew on and molded to his own purposes; and evaluates the novel's impact on public opinion and policy regarding Native Americans. Readers are invited to consider Cooper's style in light of a trio of passages - expository, descriptive, and narrative - and to compare Cooper's aims and accomplishments with those of such writers as Walter Scott and Lydia Maria Child.

Ever underscoring the complexities of The Last of the Mohicans, McWilliams avoids simplistic responses to the questions it raises and instead arms readers with the necessary factual data to draw their own conclusions. Thoroughly accessible and seamlessly written from start to finish, The Last of the Mohicans: Civil Savagery and Savage Civility will undoubtedly find widespread use among students, scholars, librarians, and general audiences.