For more than a century, "experts" from outside of Africa - colonial rulers, aid organisations, western media and world travellers - have labelled African society "underdeveloped" and declared African culture a barrier to "modernisation". A group of prominent Ugandan writers challenge this narrative. Get ready to be transported to a time before wrenching changes and cultural dissonance disrupted the African way of life. In conversations with elders and contemporary Ugandans ranging from traditional healers to contemporary entertainers, the writers rediscover enduring ideals born in civilisations that existed for millennia before modern times. These African stories remind us that while change is sometimes necessary, bedrock human values - family, a commitment to collective well-being, individual character and freedom - are more important than materialism and unbridled individualism.