Songcatchers

the long version

Music is elemental, universal, instinctive - a mysterious pulse at the very heart of the human experience. This tale is a panorama of the world's music and a vivid portrait of the pioneers who traveled far and wide to collect it. Mickey Hart, the Grateful Dead's percussionist, is also a dedicated musicologist who has recorded traditional music all over the globe. His personal quest is part of the fascinating book. Filled with historical photographs and highlighted by a time line that traces the hundred-year evolution of recording technology, Songcatchers in an informative, always engrossing odyssey of the world's musical heritage and our ongoing effort to understand, appreciate, and preserve it.