About

Daniel S. Levy

Author, Journalist

A native New Yorker, Levy started exploring his hometown at an early age. While studying American history at New York University, he became intrigued that a stream called the Minetta once flowed through what is now Washington Square Park, and how Manhattan evolved from a wild island with lakes and streams into the world’s greatest city. In his senior year he worked on the installation of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s American Wing, and soon after enrolled at Columbia University’s school of architecture. It was there that he first learned of New York’s Great Fire of 1835.

Levy planned on becoming an architect and a preservationist, but a few months before starting at Columbia he got a job in Time magazine’s art department. After he graduated from Columbia with a degree in historic preservation he became a cultural reporter for the magazine, and spent 17 years at Time, where he covered architecture, design and music. While at Time he wrote Two-Gun Cohen, a biography of an English adventurer who became a general in the Chinese army. In 2001 Levy moved over to Time’s sister publication, People, and covered news, crime, celebrity, military and social issues. At Time and People, Levy also worked on the company’s assorted books and bookazines. In 2013 he shifted over to the books division, and as a senior writer at Life Books—which is now a part of Dotdash Meredith—writes many of the division’s history and other titles. He lives in Glen Ridge, NJ with his wife and daughters.