Michael Crichton's 1968 manuscript 'The Andromeda Strain' faced numerous challenges before publication due to its unconventional character development. Robert Gottlieb, the editor at Knopf, proposed a radical rewrite to transform it from a character-driven story into a documentary-like narrative, focusing on a factual recounting of events. This approach ultimately defined the book's unique style, blending scientific inquiry with a thrilling plot, inspired by real quarantine procedures from NASA's moon program, thereby enhancing the book's credibility and appeal.
I learned that a complicated quarantine procedure really existed for the U.S. moon program, which was a considerable psychological boost, enabling me to write the book.
I told Crichton that if he agreed to completely rewrite it, I would publish the book. We should treat it like a magazine article.
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