Evan Wright Evan Alan Wright ( born 1966 ) is an American writer , best known for his extensive reporting on subcultures for " Rolling Stone " and " Vanity Fair " , sometimes using his full name : Evan Alan Wright . He is best known for his book on the Iraq War , " Generation Kill " . In 2012 he wrote an expose about a top CIA officer who allegedly worked as a mob hit man , " How to Get Away With Murder in America . " Though some compare his writings to those of Hunter S . Thompson , Wright claims his biggest literary influences were Mark Twain and British - American author Christopher Isherwood . The New York Times called his military writing " nuanced and grounded in details often overlooked in daily journalistic accounts " and noted his use of " gallows humor . " Biography . Wright was born in Cleveland , Ohio and grew up in Willoughby , Ohio . Both of his parents were lawyers . His father was a prosecutor , then the general counsel for a utility . Wright attended Hawken School , but was kicked out for selling marijuana and sent to a home for juvenile delinquents called The Seed , which used harsh techniques " to straighten out kids : sleep deprivation , threats of physical violence , and boxing . " Wright studied at Johns Hopkins University and at Vassar College . He graduated from Vassar College with a degree in medieval history . His first writing job was to interview South African political leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi , but it was for a small magazine that did not pay . " Hustler " magazine . In 1995 , he became the entertainment editor and chief pornographic film reviewer for " Hustler " magazine . In 2000 , he wrote about the experience and the issues surrounding the pornography industry and misogyny in an article for " Salon " titled " Maxed Out " and for the " LA Weekly " in a cover story titled " Scenes from My Life in Porn " . Immersion journalism . Starting in 1996 at " Hustler , " then at " Rolling Stone , " " TIME , " and " Vanity Fair " he wrote long features based on his immersion in subcultures ranging from radical environmentalist s to neo - Nazi s . Many of his essays focused on crimes or controversial figures and were said by him to capture a " dark , untamed America " that resembled " the Wild West . " Several of his essays were collected in the book " Hella Nation " , which Wright called a " sort of autobiography " . His essays in " Hella Nation " were compared to Joan Didion ' s writings on California . Another reviewer called " Hella Nation " a " comically macabre portrait of American life . " Military reporting . In 2002 , Wright went to Afghanistan on assignment for " Rolling Stone " . In 2003 , he was embedded with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps during the early stages of the 2003 invasion of Iraq . Wright spent his entire embed with a recon team led by Sergeant ( at the time ) Brad Colbert . He was under fire with the Marines for several weeks , and accompanied them " on point , " or in the lead vehicle . One of the Marines in the unit told the New York Times , " He was in the worst possible place to have a reporter . During the first firefight , he took 10 rounds in his door . " Wright expressed admiration for the Marines , but warned them that a reporter ' s motto is " charm and betray . " He published a series of articles for " Rolling Stone " magazine titled " The Killer Elite " which , in 2004 , received the National Magazine Award for Reporting , the top prize in magazine writing . He then wrote " Generation Kill . " In 2007 , he returned to Iraq when the surge in U . S . forces was beginning . Wright interviewed General Petraeus and spent several weeks embedded with U . S . troops in Baghdad , Ramadi and Diwania . He later criticized American television media for promoting misperceptions of the war . He also criticized some U . S . political leaders , including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , for calling the surge a failure before it had been fully implemented . Television and film . " Generation Kill " was adapted into a television miniseries by the HBO network and first aired in 2008 ; Wright was portrayed by Lee Tergesen . Wright himself served as a writer and consulting producer on the project , collaborating closely with Emmy - winning producer David Simon . Wright was hired by Paramount to write a script about Miami ' s " Cocaine Cowboys " Jon Roberts and Mickey Munday for Peter Berg to direct . The screenplay is based on a book Wright is writing about Roberts to be published by Crown Books . Actor Mark Wahlberg is producing the film and plans to star in it . In 2010 it was announced that director Ole Bornedal was filming a movie inspired by an article Wright wrote for " TIME " magazine called " Death of a Hostess . " Wright ' s article was a profile of Japanese serial - rapist and killer Joji Obara he wrote in Tokyo for " TIME " magazine . In 2012 he released the book " American Desperado " , a book he co - wrote with Jon Roberts , who was featured in the documentary " Cocaine Cowboys " . Wright is writing a memoir about the home for troubled teens he was sent to during his childhood . The book is called the The Seed , and will be published by Putnam .