 High-ranking party member John Howard Lawson ordered Schulberg to make extensive changes to the novel to better fit Communist principles.Schulberg refused and quit the party in protest, and a decade later testified before the House Unamerican Activities Committee about Communist influence in Hollywood and to identify other party members.The book was cited by famed Marvel Comics creator Jack Kirby in particular as one of the principle reasons he originally quit the company he helped create, not wanting to become or associated with anyone as power-hungry as the fictional Sammy Glick.