<p>In 'Jack Tier; Or, The Florida Reef,' James Fenimore Cooper extends his maritime literary canvas well beyond the boundaries of his noted Leatherstocking Tales, delving into the tense epoch of the Mexican-American War. With an intricacy of plot emblematic of Cooper's narrative style, this novel explores the ambiguities of a long-standing relationship between a sailor and his captain, marked by an intensity that borders on the homoerotic. Cooper...