Editing The Puppet Masters (section)

==Alternative version==
Heinlein's original version of the novel was 96,000 words, and was cut to 72,000 words for both the 1951 book version and the serialization in ''[[Galaxy Science Fiction]]''. For the ''Galaxy'' version, editor [[H. L. Gold]] also did extensive rewriting, to which Heinlein strenuously objected.<ref>{{cite book|title=Il terrore dalla sesta luna|publisher=Mondadori|author=Giuseppe Lippi (introduction)|date=1990|isbn=8804341033}}</ref>

In 1990, two years after Heinlein's death, an expanded version was published with the consent of his widow, [[Virginia Heinlein]]. This edition contained material that had been cut from the original published version, because the book was deemed to be too long and controversial for the market in 1951. The uncut version seemed more risqué in 1951 than it did decades later. For example, in the uncut version the book begins with Sam waking up in bed with a blonde whom he had casually picked up the evening before, without even bothering to learn her name; the older version omitted all mention of her. The 1951 version does mention that men possessed by the invaders lost all sexual feeling—an essential element in the early parts of the plot; the original publisher completely cut out a reference to the "puppet masters" later discovering human sexuality and embarking upon wild orgies, broadcast live on television in the areas under their control. Also all references to the Soviet Union were eliminated.