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| Generation Kill | |
 Front Cover |
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| Author | Evan Wright |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Military History, History |
| Publisher | Putnam Adult |
| Publication date | June 17, 2004 |
| Media type | Hardcover |
| Pages | 368 |
| ISBN | ISBN 978-0-39-915193-4 |
Generation Kill is a 2004 book written by Rolling Stone journalist Evan Wright chronicling his experience as an embedded reporter with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. His account of life with the Marines was originally published as a three-part series in Rolling Stone in the fall of 2003. "The Killer Elite", the first of these articles, went on to win a National Magazine Award for Excellence in Reporting in 2004.1
Contents |
The assignment
Wright spent two months with the battalion, having persuaded a commander that he could cope with such an assignment.2
The Marines of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion were initially hostile and suspicious, but soon warmed to him and treated him as one of their own.2 He gained their respect through his fearlessness in the face of combat.2 Often riding in the lead vehicle, a lightly armored Humvee, Wright was in real danger for much of the time,3 and at one point was ordered to openly brandish a weapon (though he did not fire it).
Wright encounters members of the battalion from all ranks, but the "main players" can be narrowed down to just six from Bravo Company: Sergeant Brad Colbert, Lance Corporal Harold James Trombley, Sergeant Rudy "Ballbags" Reyes, First Lieutenant Nathaniel Fick, Sergeant Antonio Espera, and Corporal Josh Ray Person.
Consequences for Wright and the Marines
Sergeant Espera was forced to leave the battalion, SSgt. Eric Kocher was disciplined for his actions in retrieving a fellow Marine who was wounded after stepping on a landmine, and one Marine's promotion from corporal to sergeant was canceled as a direct result of the publication of the original articles.2
Despite initial doubts, Marine commanders later encouraged the officers of 1st Reconnaissance to read the book and the articles to get an insight into the reality of war.2
Nathaniel 'Nate' Fick went on to write his own book, One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer (2006).
'Casey Kasem'
The Operation Chief for Bravo Company, known only as "Casey Kasem" in the book, later defended himself via a post on his brother's blog, calling the book a work of fiction. He highlighted several passages that he claims were fabricated.4 The character of "Casey Kasem" in the HBO miniseries is called Gunnery Sergeant Ray Griego, Bravo Company operations sergeant, but his brother revealed that he is actually retired Gunnery Sergeant Daniel J. Griego. In one of the later releases of the book Evan Wright has a couple of pages of what happened since the invasion. He wrote that when the platoon commander had been injured Casey Kasem took over the platoon during the fighting and was able to flank and destroy the enemy. Many members of the unit changed their opinion about him after this incident. He has now retired from the Marines.5
'Captain America'
The character in the book known only as "Captain America" by his men is in real life Captain David H. McGraw.2
'Major Shoup'
Major Shoup, an augment Forward Air Controller in the battalion, posted a commentary on the book in which he contrasts the events he witnessed with Wright's descriptions of them. Shoup also states that Wright often wrote one group of enlisted Marines' version of events without including the perspective of others.6
Wright replied to this blog post citing Shoup's own extensive interview that directly contradicts his later claims and version of events. He also claims that his "version" was the composite of interviews from a wide variety of people. 7
Awards
The book won a PEN USA Award, the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Award.
It also won the Gen. Wallace Greene Award from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation.8
TV Mini-series
The cable television channel HBO has produced a mini-series based on the book. The series aired in July 2008 and spans seven 68 minute episodes. It was produced by David Simon, Ed Burns, Nina K. Noble, George Faber and Charles Pattinson. It starred Alexander Skarsgård, James Ransone, Stark Sands, Jon Huertas, and Lee Tergesen.9 Rudy Reyes plays himself in the miniseries adaptation, driving the third Humvee. 10
References
- ^ NPR, 2004
- ^ a b c d e f Sparing No One, a Journalist's Account of War - New York Times
- ^ article, interviews
- ^ CoInSide: Generation Kill Full Rebuttal
- ^ CoInSide: Controversy on Generation Killdead link
- ^ Commentary on Generation Kill
- ^ Commentary on Generation Kill
- ^ Variety article
- ^ "HBO drafts cast for 'Kill' mini". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
- ^ "Generation Kill" (2008) (mini)
External links
- "The Killer Elite," Part 1 of the original article series
- "From Hell to Baghdad," Part 2 of the original article series
- "The Battle for Baghdad," Part 3 of the original article series
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Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 31 December 2008, at 00:49.
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