We have a dog with long, coarse, thick hair. What is a good set of clippers that will cut her hair relatively short (1/2 inch or so) and quickly?

What kind of dog is it? Just so you know, with some dogs, clipping or cutting the hair can change the texture of it permanently. In fact, the change can be so drastic that show dogs of certain breeds can never have certain parts of their coats clipped.

If you know that you want to do it, I don't know which dog clippers to recommend, but you can find all kinds of great sites dedicated specifically to dog grooming tools and accessories. I know I've come across quite a few. If I can remember the names of them, I'll come back to post them here for you.

She's just a mutt. The problem is that she is a long haired dog in Mississippi, a hot state, so we want to keep her trimmed.