The Early Years

Posted on February 18, 2018July 17, 2018 by Sally Wiener Grotta

Daniel’s foundation disciplines were philosophy, history, music and photography. Throughout his life, these four areas of study carried him along very different but often converging paths.

I imagine Daniel as a studious child with a wicked but quiet sense of humor. From the moment he picked up a trumpet in elementary school, he was committed to music, not just playing it, but understanding it within the context of history and personalities. Eventually, he received a music scholarship to Temple University. But a motor scooter accident that incapacitated him for several months put an end to his formal college education. After that, he gave up the idea of a career as a trumpeter, though music remained an abiding passion. (“I realized I would never be first trumpeter in a top-tier orchestra. I decided I’d rather do something I could excel at.)

That accident was a defining point, Read More

War Correspondent and Relief Activist: Adventures & Disillusionment

Posted on February 17, 2018July 17, 2018 by Sally Wiener Grotta

After the motor scooter accident that cut his time at Temple University short, Daniel worked in a photo store just long enough to buy some Leica M4 cameras. Then he set sail for England, which became his base for several years. As a photojournalist war correspondent, he covered several hot spots including Northern Ireland, the Middle East and the Biafran War.

The horrors of the mass starvation in Biafra hit Daniel hard. As a direct result, his next adventure was as a member of Operation Omega, in which a handful of relief workers/political activists drove an ambulance halfway around the world from England to Bangladesh. Read More

On the Home Front

Posted on February 16, 2018July 17, 2018 by Sally Wiener Grotta

Still needing to use his talents for some greater good, Daniel threw himself into investigative reporting. That was at a time when magazines still had budgets to support the kind of probing and fact substantiation that could take months for a single story. Covering politics and politicians, secretive sects, white collar criminals, the global munitions industry and such, his research was so solid that some of his stories resulted in indictments.

As magazines became less interested in supporting investigative journalism (a combination of shrinking budgets and fear of litigation), Daniel segued into producing more feature stories, which eventually led to syndicated columns as a books and classical music critic, and travel journalist. (“I was tired of being shot at, but still enjoyed travel.”)

During this period, he also worked as a book editor, as well as researched and wrote J.R.R. Tolkien, Architect of Middle Earth, which was the first biography about the creator of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

Team Grotta

Posted on February 15, 2018July 17, 2018 by Sally Wiener Grotta

Fantasy Man by Sally Wiener Grotta — “Fantasy Man” by Sally Wiener Grotta, from a photo by Peter Treiber

Soon after Daniel and I met, he taught me photography so we could travel on assignment together. Our work took us to all seven continents (including three times in Antarctica) plus numerous exotic islands (such as Papua New Guinea and Madagascar). Our articles and photo spreads appeared in numerous glossy magazines.

When I bought Daniel a Radio Shack computer for its word processing capabilities, he immediately recognized the future. Using the same critical skills and instinctive insights that made him a successful investigative reporter and book critic, Daniel was soon delving into technology,Read More