He studied economics and journalism. Prior to joining Der Spiegel in 1999 he wrote for almost one decade for Die Zeit. He also wrote the screenplays for two movies based on his novels (Die Einsamkeit der Krokodile, 2000, and Schussangst, 2003). He is the recipient of two Egon-Erwin-Kisch Prizes (1998 and 2002) for best reporting.