Roy Rogers may have been Republic's "King of the Cowboys," but he was lesser nobility when it came to licensed merchandise. The "King of the Cowboy Merchandisers" was Hopalong Cassidy. In the three and one-half year period beginning in late 1949 and ending after the 1952 Christmas season Hoppy rode so far ahead of the pack that his competition had to eat his dust. By early 1950s over a hundred manufacturers were producing Hopalong Cassidy licensed products. No matter where one turned, there was Hoppy. It was a Hopalong Cassidy era. Now Hoppy has found renewed interest among collectors. The support is multi-layered. Prices across the board are at record levels. Common pieces have doubled or tripled in value over the past five years. Scarcer pieces have risen ten times or more. This comprehensive new book by one America's foremost authorities on antiques in general, and Hoppy in particular, will introduce you to the various collecting categories within the wonderful world of Hoppy collectibles and allow you to cast your cares aside while leisurely strolling down nostalgia lane. Packed with useful information, it also has beautiful color photographs of most of the merchandise bearing the Hopalong Cassidy name. If you are old enough to have grown up with Hoppy, you will think "I owned one of those" or "I remember one of those." If you are not, you will be moved to say - "Wow! That's neat. I won't mind owning one."

Hopalong Cassidy rode into cattle country just east of the California line looking for his old friend Red Connors. He found Red holed up in a mountain cave with a bullet in his side and a story to tell. The ranchers around Tascotal had been losing their stock, and when Red caught the rustlers in the act, they hunted him down, shot him, and left him for dead. Jack Bolt, a savage, ruthless killer, has brought in a tough band of hard cases to run his operation. And now he’s sent them out to take care of the one man who stands in his way: Hopalong Cassidy. But Bolt’s about to learn the hard way that if you shoot down a man like Cassidy, you better make sure he never gets up again.