SHORT TAKES : Book Has Environmental Beat

There’s an environmental tie-in with the new book on drums by Mickey Hart, one of the Grateful Dead’s two drummers.

“Drumming at the Edge of Magic: A Journey into the Spirit of Percussion,” which will be published in September by Harper & Row, is about the history and significance of drumming and Hart’s travels around the world in pursuit of ancient and endangered drumming traditions.

“It’s a natural progression from learning about endangered music to caring about our endangered planet,” says Hart. Therefore, because of Hart’s concern for the environment, particularly rain forests, his publisher will plant two trees in a South American rain forest for every one tree required to produce his book.

“Although obviously the paper used for book production doesn’t come from rain forest trees, we see this action as a powerful symbol of our joint responsibility for replenishing natural resources,” said Clayton Carlson, publisher of Harper & Row in San Francisco.