Stranger In A Strange Land by fredgiblet

Fred...
did you know that the original version of SiaSL - that is, the one made available to the public - was censored..ok, edited from its original form because the publisher thought some parts were too shocking at the time - 1961 or 62... and the uncut version was not released until 1991 after Heinlein's death..? I imagine that you read the unedited version. I have both of them at home and finally read the uncut version a couple of years ago.

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Thursday, March 6, 2008 12:25 PM

WASHNWEAR

Quote:
Originally posted by deadlockvictim:

Fred...
did you know that the original version of SiaSL - that is, the one made available to the public - was censored..ok, edited from its original form because the publisher thought some parts were too shocking at the time - 1961 or 62... and the uncut version was not released until 1991 after Heinlein's death..? I imagine that you read the unedited version. I have both of them at home and finally read the uncut version a couple of years ago.

Thank you for that, DeadLock - I was dimly aware that there was a censored and uncensored version but hadn't really thought about it lately. I'm almost positive that the copy I have was not printed after 1991. Time to visit the used bookstore...

I can see a TV series coming out of that book. Of course, it would have to be done by a genius like Joss or...or...or somebody very Joss-like...otherwise there'd be an almost unparallelled opportunity for major suckage. With Joss (or some similar) at the helm, the only concern would be how many episodes to wager on getting aired before the network in question cancelled it...

It was hardly worth getting out of bed when we got here!

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Thursday, March 6, 2008 12:26 PM

STARTROOP

I have read both and frankly when I was in college and read them for the first time, I found then quite profound. Perhap they are due for a reread.

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Thursday, March 6, 2008 12:48 PM

DEADLOCKVICTIM

Heinlein was a very prolific writer, and certainly had an influence on many science fiction authors - I would recommend any of his books - One of my favorites is Farnhams Freehold - one of his lesser books I suppose, but it is an interesting story about a post apocalyptic future and a hand full of survivors..

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Thursday, March 6, 2008 12:54 PM

STARTROOP

I still have a crush on Podykane!

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Thursday, March 6, 2008 2:36 PM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

I've read SiaSL numerous times. It was the first SF book I ever read, and I think it is very good. However, in my opinion, Heinlein's best is The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, followed by Starship Troopers, Friday, and Glory Road, then SiaSL. I have read every Heinlein novel at least twice, some of them close to a dozen times. He's my all time favorite writer.

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Thursday, March 6, 2008 2:52 PM

CHRISISALL

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
He's my all time favorite writer.

A friend suggested Number Of The Beast- is that a good one? I would trust your opinion, Ec.

Chrisisall

"I supported Bush in 2000 and 2004 and intellegence[sic] had very little to do with that decision." - Hero, Real World Event Discussions

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Thursday, March 6, 2008 3:14 PM

KIRKULES

Quote:
Originally posted by deadlockvictim:

Fred...
did you know that the original version of SiaSL - that is, the one made available to the public - was censored..ok, edited from its original form because the publisher thought some parts were too shocking at the time - 1961 or 62... and the uncut version was not released until 1991 after Heinlein's death..? I imagine that you read the unedited version. I have both of them at home and finally read the uncut version a couple of years ago.

I think it was in the late 70's when I read SiaSL, so I must have read the censored version. What type of stuff did they edit out? It's been so long I don't remember much but I seem to remember a living room with real grass instead of carpet and a woman tying some awkward poseing.

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Thursday, March 6, 2008 3:53 PM

MSB

It's a great book...

and it's Jimi (Riverismygoddess) favorite book...can't believe he hasn't posted in here

____________________________________________

Ain't Love GRAND!!!

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Thursday, March 6, 2008 8:07 PM

FREDGIBLET

Harsh Mistress was definitely awesome, I personally really like Citizen Of The Galaxy as well. I'm slowly meandering through his entire collection.

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Thursday, March 6, 2008 9:22 PM

NEWOLDBROWNCOAT

I've also rad practically every word RAH wrote.
Stranger wasn't exactly censored- the publisher thought it was too long, but didn't specifically request cuts for thematic reasons. Heinlein rewrote it himself, cutting a few words here, a paragraph there, and so on, about 1/3 of the total work.
I had read the original paperback edition several times, and the uncut was only slightly different- kinda like peeling a layer off an onion- it's still an onion underneath.

AS to The Number of the Beast, it's quite an enjoyable book. Without spoiling anything, the last chapter is absolutely mind-bending...

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Friday, March 7, 2008 3:35 AM

MIRAMEL

i agree, harsh mistress was great. kind of a bubmer for me because it was the first that i read, and my favorite, so after that nothing seemed quite as good :)
i liked stranger, especially jubal's character. glory road also very good.

~~~~
98% of teens have smoked pot, if you are one of the 2% that haven't, copy this into your signature
~~
Fear is the Mind Killer
~~~~

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Friday, March 7, 2008 3:37 AM

RIVERISMYGODDESS

Quote:
Originally posted by MSB:
It's a great book...

and it's Jimi (Riverismygoddess) favorite book...can't believe he hasn't posted in here

Because I just saw this thread.

It is an amazing book. I recommend it to anyone I meet who I think will even sort of like it. It's actually changed the way I think about and do things.

*fills a glass with water and passes it to MsB* May You Never Thirst.

~jimi
Lt. Alexander - Chief Medic / XO Alpha Co. / Logistics & Transportation Specialist - 76th IAB

About drugs, about alcohol, about pornography and smoking and everything else: What business is it of yours what I do, read, buy, see, say, think, who I fuck, what I take into my body - as long as I do not harm another human being on this planet?

xBox 360 GamerTag: Swinger420

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Friday, March 7, 2008 3:48 AM

WILLIAMJAMESW

I read it back in high school (around '91 or so). Strangely enough; it was the same copy that my mom had checked out from the HS library over 20 years earlier. I hadn't known about the different edition until I read the first few pages of a copy I just got from SFBC a couple weeks ago.

It was a great read, and I was surprised that my rural HS had a copy(the entire SF section only took up shelf space about 6 feet wide by 5 feet high).

I could stand to hear a little more.

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Friday, March 7, 2008 4:18 AM

DEADLOCKVICTIM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kirkules:
What type of stuff did they edit out?

Kirkules, sorry, to leave you hanging on that question - i probably should not have used the word 'censored' - edited would be more like it -

Newoldbrowncoat pretty much explains it in the post above.
According to Wikipedia the original was scaled back from about 220,000 to something like 160,000 words - i think there was a similar editing of Heinlein's Podkayne of Mars

I read Stranger in college in the early 70's - it was pretty much required reading for the counter-culture crowd.

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Friday, March 7, 2008 4:28 AM

DEADLOCKVICTIM

Quote:
Originally posted by williamjamesw:
...my rural HS had a copy(the entire SF section only took up shelf space about 6 feet wide by 5 feet high)

William - my high school library was about the same in regards to science fiction - we had the standards, but that's about it. I remember reading Brave New World as a sophomore and was blown away - I turned in a very lengthly book report which i fully expected to get a low grade - but turned out to get the highest mark in that small class...

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Friday, March 7, 2008 4:32 AM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
He's my all time favorite writer.

A friend suggested Number Of The Beast- is that a good one? I would trust your opinion, Ec.

Chrisisall

It's okay, but far from one of his best. Definitely not the place to start reading Heinlein.

My recommendation is always on his "Future History" stories, which were collected back in '76 as The Past Through Tomorrow. Unfortunately, that is not in print at this time, but you could probably find it at a library or used book store. But all of the original collections are still in print from Baen Books I believe, beginning with The Man Who Sold the Moon, then The Green Hills of Earth, followed by Revolt in 2100, and "concluding" with the novel Methuselah's Children. I put that word in quotes, because many years later he brought back a character introduced in Methuselah's Children (Woodrow Wilson Smith, aka Lazarus Long) in the novel Time Enough for Love. Lazarus then reappears in Number of the Beast, and also figures into the action of Heinlein's final two books, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls and To Sail Beyond the Sunset.

Let me do a bit of self-promotion here. Not only is Heinlein my favorite writer, I have also written more essays about his work on my site than about any other writer. Check out this index page - http://templetongate.net/rahmain.htm

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Friday, March 7, 2008 4:37 AM

CHRISISALL

http://templetongate.net/rahmain.htm

Mucho thanks, my man!!

The doesn't-read-enough Chrisisall

"I supported Bush in 2000 and 2004 and intellegence[sic] had very little to do with that decision." - Hero, Real World Event Discussions

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Sunday, March 9, 2008 10:55 PM

We didn't have any SF or fantasy books beside The Chronicles of Narnia in my library.

Anyway, SIASL is on my short list. I'm reading Dhalgren by Delaney now then I'll tackle Stranger.

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Sunday, March 9, 2008 10:55 PM

We didn't have any SF or fantasy books beside The Chronicles of Narnia in my library.

Anyway, SIASL is on my short list. I'm reading Dhalgren by Delaney now then I'll tackle Stranger.

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Monday, March 10, 2008 12:35 AM

SPACEANJL

'Number of the Beast' always seemed to me to be two very different books welded into one, with a really odd last chapter. (In a good way) In fact, the last chapter is somewhat reminiscent of serious crackfic. I just love spotting who or what he's taking the piss out of all the way through that book.

First Heinlein I read was 'Citizen of the Galaxy', and I was about nine at the time. I read that, 'Dune', and LoTR in the same few months. This might explain a lot. 'Starship Troopers' was fantastic, 'Friday' made me cry (Mr Underfoot), and 'Stranger in a Strange Land' definitely makes you take a new look at things.

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Monday, March 10, 2008 5:22 AM

EMBERS

this is really interesting, I read it in High School (1968, yes...I know I'm old) in Psychology class...
but I didn't know I was reading a censored version (I'm surprised Mr. Hamilton wouldn't have made a point about that, or maybe he did and I wasn't paying enough attention).
It was a wonderful read, profound and entertaining...
Sci-fi really can say more, in IMO, than so many other genres.

New Firefly fans should check this out: http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=2&t=15816

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Monday, March 10, 2008 5:36 AM

DEADLOCKVICTIM

Embers - i used the tern 'censored' in a previous post - that was misleading. Edited (as all books are), would have been more like it.
\From what I can tell - the parts taken out were for wordiness, more than anything - i plan to re-read the unedited version to see the difference. But, yeah, I read the edited version in '69 or '70 - so it's time to revisit this tale.

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Monday, March 10, 2008 6:58 AM

WHODIED

Also, the description of Mike's gravity reducing hospital accommodations led to the production of the first waterbed.

The man who built it sent RAH one and marketed under the name 'Share Waterbed Company'.

--WhoDied

_______________________

"Hey, does your mom still pick out your lice, or
are you old enough to do that yourself now?"

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Monday, March 10, 2008 7:37 AM

NEWOLDBROWNCOAT

Quote:
Originally posted by embers:
this is really interesting, I read it in High School (1968, yes...I know I'm old) in Psychology class...
but I didn't know I was reading a censored version (I'm surprised Mr. Hamilton wouldn't have made a point about that, or maybe he did and I wasn't paying enough attention).

The "censorship" ( actually editing as discussed above.) wasn't widely discussed back then. I suspect not even widely known. I didn't hear about it, and I was a huge fan, until the Uncut Edition was published.

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Monday, March 10, 2008 7:44 AM

MSB

drink deeply Jimi

____________________________________________

Ain't Love GRAND!!!

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Monday, March 10, 2008 10:15 AM

CHRISISALL

Quote:
Originally posted by T:
I'm reading Dhalgren by Delaney now then I'll tackle Stranger.

OOoooo- How is it? That was one I always wanted to tackle- is it something you think I should, T?

Curious Chrisisall

"I supported Bush in 2000 and 2004 and intellegence[sic] had very little to do with that decision." - Hero, Real World Event Discussions

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Monday, March 10, 2008 11:36 AM

HUGHFF

I think RAH is the Bob Dylan of sf. He's very popular, he influenced many people whom I admire and he's complete crap.

I find BD unlistenable and RAH unreadable. They are both tedious propagandists.

www.cpfc.org - my life
www.nbhs.school.nz - my work

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Monday, March 10, 2008 3:03 PM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

Quote:
Originally posted by hughff:
I think RAH is the Bob Dylan of sf. He's very popular, he influenced many people whom I admire and he's complete crap.

I find BD unlistenable and RAH unreadable. They are both tedious propagandists.

I disagree very strongly with those statements, about Heinlein and Dylan. Just shows that it all comes down to personal taste.

And concerning Dhalgren; it's one of the best books I've read that I would have a hard time recommending to others. It is very strange, and only SF in the most peripheral way.

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Monday, March 10, 2008 3:10 PM

VETERAN

Don't squat with your spurs on.

Sorry I don't grok you Hugh. I have to say he is my favorite science fiction author. My first Heinlen book was Starship Troopers, it was on the required reading list for the Science Fiction course I took instead of English Lit II in college. I didn't read Stranger in a Strange Landuntil about 8 years ago. I just finished a Heinlen Marthon of audio books, largely out of order The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and the Rolling Stones.

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Sunday, March 16, 2008 2:39 PM

CLJOHNSTON108

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
I've read SiaSL numerous times. It was the first SF book I ever read, and I think it is very good. However, in my opinion, Heinlein's best is The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, followed by Starship Troopers, Friday, and Glory Road, then SiaSL. I have read every Heinlein novel at least twice, some of them close to a dozen times. He's my all time favorite writer.

Isn't Glory Road where your username comes from? Evelyn Cyril Gordon?
That's my all-time favorite Heinlein!

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