The Deerslayer or the First Warpath

By James Fenimore Cooper and James McConnell

Book Overview

Written during a nostalgic interval during Cooper's stormy battles with the Whig Press, The Deerslayer (1841) is the last of the world-famous Leatherstocking Tales in point of composition, though first in the biographical sequence. Employing physical adventure and violence in a mythopoetic setting drawn largely from his own youthful experience, Cooper evokes the stages of Natty's initiation as a subtly allegorical medium for instilling permanent values, values he thought should pervade the conduct of the American press and all segments of American society. According to Edmund Wilson, this book--which D. H. Lawrence called "the loveliest and best" of the Leatherstocking series--contains description which "owes its power, like Melville's description of the Pacific or one of Poe's pieces on landscape gardening, to an emotional content which has charged the object and transformed it into a symbol. And the action has a reality which we recognize and accept as we read: the reality of a dream full of danger." -- The Shock of Recognition

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0873957903
• ISBN13: 9780873957908
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Length: 682 Pages
• Weight: 2.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A wonderful saga

Kent Rasmussen's editorial review is best left to the literists who cannot publish or write themselves. This was a wonderful tale full of adventure and is highly recommended to be read with the complete 5-book set of the Leatherstocking Tales. Enjoy.

Cooper Knew America

Race relations, environmental concerns, independent womanhood, the importance of personal character, survivalism, heroism, religion, cultural relativism, nature v. nurture, independence v. inter-dependency--sound like the latest hot topics in American TV, movies, and magazines? Actually, these constitute the bevy of themes that James Fenimore Cooper explored as foundational to the American experience when he wrote *Deerslayer* in 1841, setting it even farther back at the time of the French and Indian War, 1754-63. Some readers, not surprisingly, are put off by the ornate writing style of the early nineteenth century, but it doesn't hurt us post-moderns to turn off the TV and take a slower pace, interacting slowly with the writer and his thoughts. In Natty Bumppo, we find the first--and definitive--delineation of the American hero: selfless, dependable, restrained, tolerant, cagey, and moral. A generation raised on anti-heroes sometimes has a bit of a problem with the morality of Bumppo, but since 9/11, we have seen a revival of the American ideal that Cooper first defined in his Leatherstocking Tales. Don't give up on this one because of the language. Sit a bit and mull it over. You'll find Cooper will deliver remarkably well.

The one and only Deerslayer.

The Deerslayer is a great book about the first warpath of the stud, Natty Bumpo. He begins with a hike to a lake with his friend, Harry 'Hurry' March. There awaits the Hutter's, a family that has been living on the lake for most of their lifes. Many other characters are introduced later in the book. The grammar in The Deerslayer is purposely incorrect, it is written in vernacular. This book is a great way to better understand how life was during the French and Indian War. I suggest you buy this book, it'll be a great addittion to your library.(or a great start)

Deerslayer, the stud himself

The Deerslayer is a great book about Natty Bumpo, a young man who, traveling with his friend Harry(Hurry) March, is forced to go on his first warpath. This book is a must read for classic lovers. I highly suggest this book.

A true American wilderness experience.

The story of Natty Bumpo named the "Deerslayer" by his Native American friends/enemies is a classic tale of American independence and self reliance. The Deerslayer deals with racism, hatred, Manifest Destiny, technology/progress, and was the first environmetalist. A must read for anyone looking for accurate descriptions of life in the wooded frontier