Hopalong Cassidy

Fans familiar with the polished and polite on-screen version of this indelible Western hero may be taken aback at their first encounter with his literary predecessor. In Clarence E. Mulford's wildly popular series of novels and short stories, Hopalong Cassidy is rough around the edges, prone to vulgarity, and usually pretty grumpy -- but he's a quintessential cowboy through and through.