This latest collection brings together a sampling of the variety and power of African writing from North Eastern and Eastern Africa. A. rigorous and informed selection has ensured that it combines the confidence of the classics with the freshness that contemporary writers bring to their craft. This collection is a grain-store of memories that seek to entertain, provoke and educate. The themes are as wide ranging as the authors' backgrounds but they share a common belief — a concern for justice. The short story is probably Africa's secret weapon in the way that the oral culture is interwoven into the written text, to be enjoyed for education as well as a good read. It creates the magic of story telling as an enduring African cultural heritage.