This book is a bit of home that is comforting in times of homesickness. Yet is still manages to emphasize the diversity of a great nation without seeming over patriotic. I good read for all Canadians whether at home or abroad. Also a good bit of insight for Americans to read to better understand their quitely proud neighbours to the north.

As the Canadian Co-author of Chicken Soup for the Canadian Soul, I am so honoured to have been part of creating - of bringing to life - this very special book. Our vision was to put together a collection of stories that all Canadians would be moved and inspired by. In the process, we read over 6000 stories from Canadians from one coast to the other, and then we talked to some of our greatest Canadian heroes. The result - History, Heritage Heroes and Heart! The Heart is courtesy of Chicken Soup for the Soul, but the history, heroes and heritage are all ours, they are all Canadian. Read The True Story of Lake Ontario by Marilyn Bell Di Lascio, In 1954, at the age of 16, Marilyn was the first person in history to swim across Lake Ontario. This story is in her own words, from her own heart. Like The Goal of the Century from Paul Henderson, Becoming the Man in Motion from Rick Hansen, and The Magic Skates from Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini, these stories are not journalistic renderings, but rather a passionate reliving of the story by the person it happened to. And for the first time in this short story format, you can read The Legacy of Terry Fox by Leslie Scrivener of the Toronto Star. Other contributors include Kurt Browning, Jann Arden, Natalie MacMaster, Chief Dan George, and Pamela Wallin, as well as some wonderful historical and heritage stories, told by authors from all across Canada,in the compelling and heartfelt Chicken Soup style. Buy this book for yourself, or for someone you love. Give it to your kids, your parents, or you best friend. This book is for anyone who loves Canada - no matter where they live!

We live literally across the street from each other - Canadians and Americans. But Americans don't really know us. This book shows our big hearts, humor, valiant spirit, courage and creativity. Every American should read this book and learn just a little bit more about the people who use strange words like "eh" and "toque"! Come on up and visit - or better yet, read this book. The folks who were stranded in Gander, Newfoundland on September 11 will tell you that every word is the truth.

Eddie Murphy made his debut in this Walter Hill film, and he is really the star here, even though Nick Nolte gets top billing. Nolte does a fine job, but his part is not as showy, and one's eyes are not drawn to him as much as Murphy, at his best in the country-western bar scene.

You probably know the story, but I'll summarize it here by saying that this is simply a buddy movie with an antagonistic twist. Murphy is the con, in for three years with six months left. Nolte is the cop on a search for James Remar, who stole a lot of money with Murphy long ago.

The story is set up as a mystery, with the pair questioning several possible connections, but the story doesn't really matter. The main attraction is the relationship between Murphy and Nolte and the slow growth towards friendship.

One complaint is that since this was filmed in 1982, they had a different idea of gritty police drama than today. The police department's atmosphere is incredibly tame compared to shows like NYPD Blue. Nolte does his best, chain-smoking and nipping from a flask (I read once you could tell an '80's movie by how much they smoked), but he still doesn't come across as jaded as any scene with Andy Sipowicz.

It's still fun and good entertainment, especially if you are looking for a film with an American Indian character that dresses like a '50's relic.

Falling into the same genre as 'Beverly Hills Cop', 1982's '48 HRS.' takes the good-cop, bad-crook scene and transforms it to fit Eddie Murphy's talents on a different scale. Instead of chasing high-profile criminals as 'Detective Axel Foley', Murphy portrays a loud-mouth convict teamed up with a hardass detective Jack Cates. Nick Nolte's roll as this chain smoking, trash-talking, loveable sleezbag sort of shadows performances by John Wayne and Clint Eastwood...only in a new age. The low-flash scene is set in California, where Cates (Nolte) loses a battle with two escape conns along with his gun...leaving two more plain-clothed officers dead. The thing I think you need to remember when watching these movies is that the lead cops never dressed in uniform, and you'll see more covertable classic 70s' cars than marked squad cars. Otherwise, Nolte is the perfect grunge policeman who teams up with Reggie Hammond (Murphy) to catch a ruthless killer who Murphy once sided with. From the moment Nolte takes Murphy out of jail for 48 hours, you can sense the racial heat and explosive attitudes of the two. This proved to make for a perfect comedy, as Nolte and Murphy race to kill the killers without killing eachother. Murphy has a classic scene in a highly exaggerated country western bar, where the confederate flag is on every wall and "yee-haw!" is a common thing to hear. Murphy raises the roof of the bar in a hilarious scene that could only work with this guy. 'Another 48 HRS' 10 years later was a predicted mistake, instead I think the director should've considered remaking the original scene and plot, but using the flash and movie effects not available in 1982. Maybe put a better suit on Nolte or give'em a hotter car...dont use women you would rather see with their clothes ON than off, and make the fight sequences and assaults more realistic. '48 HRS.' still never stops working though, you give a great idea to talented actors and you can make tons of mistakes while still having a great movie. '48 HRS' also features plugs from Annette O'Toole (Law and Order), Sonny Landham ('Lock-Up', 'Predator') and what-ever-happened-to Tara King ('The Avengers'). Dont wait for this movie to be on tv, if you dont hear all the language it doesnt work. Get this movie on DVD while its' still available...but just dont expect to find as great a movie in the sequal.

In order to appreciate this film fully, you hafta turn yourself back in time to 1982, an' try an' remember the political an' social mindset of the day. Then imagine watching '48 HRS.' an unabashed an' raucous cop thriller that breaks the very foundation of political correctness. Now how does that make you feel? If you say, sick to your stomach, then maybe you needa loosen your jock strap an' try it again. E'ybody knows the plot, the hard-drinkin', chain-smokin' San Francisco cop Jack Cates, played by Nick Nolte (who looks almost TOO comfortable in the role of a wasted, burn-out), is lookin' to put two recent prison escapees an' vicious cop killers away after he tried an' failed to apprehend them. In going over the case he comes across several members of their old gang an' decides to go talk to one'a the incarcerated ones. Here's where Eddie Murphy comes in. Reggie Hammond is the smooth an' dapper, fast-talking convict who convinces Cates to get him out of jail an' on the street to help him solve this case. Cates reluctantly does so, an' from there is' jus' the two of them together goin' from place to place, crook to crook, bar to bar, lead to lead, tryin' to keep from killing each other in the process. Cates is a rough-edged, semi-bigot with an apparent vendetta toward these crooks (though apparently jus' for stealing his gun), Reggie is the charming, jive-talking criminal, with a more obvious vendetta toward the crooks (they dropped the dime on him, got him locked up, an' are now tryin' to steal a half a million dollars of his hard-earned, er, um, hard-stolen cash). Both are on the same mission, but with two TOTALLY different personalities an' when they mix it up, oh, is' gunpowder. E'ybody talks about the scene with Murphy in the country-western bar playin' cop ("Alright listen up. I don't like white people. An' I HATE rednecks. You people're rednecks. That means I'm enjoyin' this s---.") an' although it is funny, my favorite scene comes right after they question the two ladies who were s'posedly in cahoots with the killers, when Nolte an' Murphy finally drop the trash-talkin' an' jus' have a drunken brawl in the street only to be broken up by two cops on the beat.

This is the original buddy cop flick. With two guys who're ironically ANYTHING but buddies. Depending on the way you've come up watching movies, this one will either be a wonderfully offensive cop thriller, or a horribly offensive cop thriller. Of course, no matter how you look at it, '48 HRS.' will forever be a hallmark, because it was one'a the first movies of its kind: a rough-edged, blatant politically-incorrect film centering on characters that are so sleazy at times you hafta force yourself to like them, an' revolving around racial stereotypes an' sexist banter thas' thrown around like it's nothing, not to mention some brutal violence. Now it'd be much harder to overlook all the coldness if it wasn't for the charm an' appeal of Eddie Murphy, in his film debut. He is the main reason to watch the flick, although Nolte's character also provides the perfect counterbalance. Directed by Walter Hill, '48 HRS.' set a new standard for the way action flicks were to be played for the rest of the 1980s. With laughs, wit, chemistry, an' a not-so-serious attitude set against a very serious backdrop.