How much of Editing/Rewriting Should we Allow?

Sometime back, I read in the newspaper that a book I had really liked had the last one third  of the book, practically re-written by the editor of the publishing house. We writers are aware that our books will be edited, and I am sure we all are cool with it. Even the best writers say that they are lost without their editors. An editor’s sharp eyes catch hold of gaps in the plot and highlight the weaknesses and help tighten the story by  trimming the flab.

But  when an editor rewrites the book, I feel that is too much. The editor can make few small  changes, even give suggestions, but just taking hold of someone’s manuscript and reworking on it, without consulting the writer is too much. I suppose some writers are  eager to get their  books published, so they  accept all the conditions by the publishing houses, even conditions they don't like.

I am cool with editing, I know that I am not perfect and I have a tendency to make lots of mistakes which I overlook and I am extremely happy when my editors suggest changes and wait for me to incorporate them in my stories and books. But just making major  changes without letting me know about them is something I am not comfortable with.

I feel when our stories and books are rewritten by the editor, somewhere along the way, the writer’s  unique voice and style  get submerged  in the editorial interference, as the rewrite will bring with it the editor’s style of writing. Maybe I am wrong, and this is just my personal belief.

What do you all think? Shouldn’t an editor suggest changes to the writer and wait for the writer to work through them, or should the editor just go ahead and rework on the portions that they feel are weak without giving the writer a chance to make the changes. How much editing do you think we writers should allow? Should we silently allow major rewrites of our book by  the editor, even if we don’t like those changes?

PS. The Blogger technical problem removed most of the comments from my previous post. I just want  to thank each one of you for visiting my blog and sharing your lovely thoughts. I truly appreciate your comments and the discussions the comments generate.