11/22/63 and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more



or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Start reading 11/22/63 on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

11/22/63: A Novel [Hardcover]

Stephen King
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4,420 customer reviews)

List Price: $35.00
Price: $24.21 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $10.79 (31%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it tomorrow, June 20? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Summer Reading
Summer Reading
Browse the best books of summer including blockbusters, beach reads, and editors' picks in our Summer Reading Store.

Book Description

November 8, 2011
On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? Stephen King’s heart-stoppingly dramatic new novel is about a man who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination—a thousand page tour de force.

Following his massively successful novel Under the Dome, King sweeps readers back in time to another moment—a real life moment—when everything went wrong: the JFK assassination. And he introduces readers to a character who has the power to change the course of history.


Jake Epping is a thirty-five-year-old high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching adults in the GED program. He receives an essay from one of the students—a gruesome, harrowing first person story about the night 50 years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a hammer. Harry escaped with a smashed leg, as evidenced by his crooked walk.

Not much later, Jake’s friend Al, who runs the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to 1958. He enlists Jake on an insane—and insanely possible—mission to try to prevent the Kennedy assassination. So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson and his new world of Elvis and JFK, of big American cars and sock hops, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake’s life—a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.

A tribute to a simpler era and a devastating exercise in escalating suspense, 11/22/63 is Stephen King at his epic best.


Best Value

Buy Under the Dome: A Novel and get 11/22/63: A Novel at an additional 5% off Amazon.com's everyday low price.

Under the Dome: A Novel + 11/22/63: A Novel
Buy together today: $46.36

Show availability and shipping details

  • Under the Dome: A Novel

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • This item: 11/22/63: A Novel

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details



Editorial Reviews

Review

'Fine stories to take with us into the night.' -- Neil Gaiman on FULL DARK, NO STARS in the Guardian

'America's greatest living novelist.' -- Lee Child

'King's gift of storytelling is unrivalled. His ferocious imagination is unlimited.' -- George Pelecanos

'King's most purely entertaining novel in years ... utterly compelling.' -- John Connolly on UNDER THE DOME

'Staggeringly addictive.' -- USA Today on UNDER THE DOME

'Tight and energetic from start to finish.' -- New York Times on UNDER THE DOME

'The pedal is indeed to the metal.' -- Guardian on UNDER THE DOME

'Delivers a lot of praise and enjoy. The story comes off the blocks with almost alarming speed ... he tells a story like a pro ... 11.22.63 kept me up all night.' -- Daily Telegraph

'Stephen King at his epic, pedal-to-metal best' -- Alison Flood, Sunday Times, Culture

'Not just an accomplished time-travel yarn but an action-heavy meditation on chance, choice and fate.' -- Independent Books of the Year

'The details of Fifties America, the cars, the clothes, the food, the televisions with wonky horizontal hold, are so vivid that you begin to wonder whether the author himself hasn't had access to a time machine. ...But as you worry at the paradoxes and the brilliantly explained pseudo science there is no denying that this monster yearn is blindingly impressive. Manly writers run out of steam as they get older. King, though, writes books that are ever longer and more demanding. I can't wait to see what he will tackle next.' -- Daily Express

'Stephen King's new novel, 11.22.63, combines a variety of genres, being a JFK assassination, a story of time travel, a variation on the grail quest, a novel of voyeurism, a love story, a historical novel, a counter-factual historical novel and the chilling tale of a sinister animate universe, a form which can be traced back to the ghost stories of MR James.' -- London Review of Books

'The master of the pen has written yet another extraordinary novel.' -- Independent

'Perhaps only seasoned storyteller Stephen King could accomplish changing the course of history in his vast time-travelling masterpiece whilst effortlessly weaving political and social details with abundant humour. King's intriguing new story structure will surely catapult the author to another best-seller.' -- The Australian Women's Weekly

'These early sections of the novel are almost irresistible entertaining, enlivened not just by King's supreme control of the form but by his sardonic wit and usual generosity of spirit and expansiveness. Yet as Jack/George moves closer to his goal, other, darker notes intrude, as time itself begins to resist his attempts to change its course, and as he begins to identify with his quarry... Beneath the reassuring glow of King's portrait of an earlier, simpler time moves a darker and less comfortable vision, a glimpse of the terrifying machinery that moves below the surface of human history, and which stands as a stark, chilling rejoinder to the fantasies of escape embodied in so many time travel stories.' -- The Weekend Australia

'Mammoth but entertaining, this is part sci-fi, part suspense and part travelogue of a long-ago America.' -- Who Weekly

'Stephen King is a remarkable and wonderful storyteller who never loosens his grip on the reader throughout the 750-page book.' -- Woman's Day

'The novel is big, ambitious and haunting. King has probably absorbed the social, political, and popular culture of his baby-boom American generation as thoroughly and imaginatively as any other writer.' -- Mildura Midweek

'King weaves the social, political and popular culture of his baby-boom American generation into a devastating exercise in escalating suspense.' -- Daily Liberal

'A fascinating journey.' -- Armidale Express Extra

'A delightful blend of history and fantasy by a man who has always had a soft spot for an America where men wore fedoras, drove big Fords and could do the foxtrot. A thriller by a genius writer.' -- The Courier Mail

'People often complain there are no writers of the stature of Dickens anymore. I think that for pure energy and invention missed with compassion, King stands in that writer's direct line. Dickens' heir is alive and well and living in Maine.' -- Eureka Street

'This is Stephen King in top and chilling form.' -- Take 5

'You have to take a leap of faith with time-travel novels, but if there's one writer who can pull it off, it's Stephen King. ... Captivating, surprisingly pacy and free from sci-fi cliche, it's no wonder the film version is already being planned.' -- Shortlist

'The most remarkable story-teller in modern American literature.' -- Mark Lawson,The Guardian

'A powerful love story' -- Mirror

'One of the strengths of the book is King's at once nostalgic and honest view of the end of the Eisenhower era. King manages to avoid both sentimentalizing the past and treating it with massive condescension; his role as the poet of American brand-names serves him well here.' -- Independen

'King swiftly moves beyond vintage Americana to unfold a stunningly panoramic portrait of the era. His [King's] fascination with evil...arranges characters among clear mortal frontiers that fell meaningful rather than simplistic. King commands an inordinately fat space on the bookshelf with 11.22.63 but it's hard to begrudge when his vast imagination is working across such an epic canvas.' -- Seven, The Sunday Telegraph

'11.22.63 marks a definite maturing of literary command and ambition. The key to any novel set in an alternate reality is credible world building, the steady accumulation of detail - preferably lightly distributed - that brings the story alive. King succeeds in this, partly drawing from his own memories.' -- Adam LeBor FT Weekend

'...This is the American of Stephen King's childhood and it's one that he re-creates in vivid and loving detail... This is a truly compulsive, addictive novel not just about time-travel or the Kennedy assassination but about recent American history and its might-have-beens, about love, and about how life 'turns on a dime'. It's a thunking 700-pager which left me only wanting more. The master storyteller in truly masterful form.' -- Daily Mail

'Stephen King is up there with the best. It's a thriller, a meditation on late Fifties and early Sixties America and a love story. It creates a world you can lose yourself in.' -- Peter Robinson in the Sunday Express

'He writes incomparably good stories ... King's mastery of plot and his ability to create characters and situations both homespun and far-fetched means that this is the book you dream of getting stuck on the train home with.' -- Independent on Sunday

'The fictional offering that engaged me most urgently ... an extraordinarily ambitious tale.' -- Canberra City News

'A suspenseful drama.' -- New Idea (Australia

'Time travel and an incredible talent for storytelling combine to produce a unique tour de force.' -- Sun

'A book of the year.' -- Sun

'Cleverly evokes the moral dilemmas of time travel and whether a time traveller could or should prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy on 11.22.63. King also beautifully and nostalgically evokes the minutiae of American suburban life in the late 1950's.' -- Canberra Times

'King's first effort at melding fact with fiction is as successful as his previous books, and perhaps even more intriguing considering the subject matter: time travel and the implications of change. A contemplative and thoughtful book as filled with heart as it is with intrigue, courtesy of one of our most gifted living writers.' -- Australian Penthouse

'Legendary writer King has written another magical tome.' -- People (Australia)

'The proof that King is an absolute master of the ambitious, imaginative novel shouts from every page.' -- Good Book Guide --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller as well as the Best Hardcover Book Award from the International Thriller Writers Association. He is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 849 pages
  • Publisher: Scribner (November 8, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1451627289
  • ISBN-13: 978-1451627282
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 2.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4,420 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. Among his most recent are the Dark Tower novels, Cell, From a Buick 8, Everything's Eventual, Hearts in Atlantis, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, and Bag of Bones. His acclaimed nonfiction book, On Writing, was also a bestseller. He is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

Customer Reviews

I just could not put this book down until I finished reading it. really liked  |  1,198 reviewers made a similar statement
The book has a great story and well developed characters. Hi  |  942 reviewers made a similar statement
This was just one of those books you did not want to end, it was that good. Jean Turicik  |  548 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
642 of 672 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Through the past darkly - a no spoilers review November 15, 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
"11/22/63", Stephen King's latest, might just be his greatest. Seriously. At least as far as "mainstream" fiction or "literature" goes. Yes, it is built around a well-used SF trope, time travel, but really, the portal to the past that Jake Epping is shown in the back of an aluminum diner is only the launch mechanism for this fantastic journey. There are no monsters here, at least none that aren't human, and little or no horror in the supernatural sense that King's constant readers have come to know, love and expect. Even SK's other "straight" fiction, "Misery", "Dolores Claiborne" and "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" come to mind, had elements of the supernatural and/or flat-out horror. Not this time.

But that doesn't mean that 11/22/63 is boring. Quite the contrary. Although it might seem that it would be tough to build suspense around a conclusion that seems to be inevitable, this turns out not to be the case. Big time. I just finished playing hooky from work for a day when I read the last 400 pages non-stop (except for a couple of bathroom breaks), because I just couldn't stop. I just kept pressing the advance button on my Kindle.

The adjective that first comes to mind in describing 11/22/63 among SK's oeuvre is, oddly enough, "mature". I have read every novel and anthology that King has published, plus a large number of single short stories, starting with "Carrie" in a borrowed paperback back in the late 1970s. I have never before thought of describing his work in any of them, many good, some great and a few clunkers (some of which I have reviewed as such), as mature. But that is the first, best word that comes to mind in describing 11/22/63. There were others too; exciting, romantic, bittersweet and, as with all SK's stuff, well-written.
... Read more ›
Was this review helpful to you?
1,473 of 1,582 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The past is obdurate November 10, 2011
Format:Hardcover
Stephen King started publishing books around roughly the same time I started reading them. It was the mid 70s, and I was a precocious young thing. I was fearless, and man I loved what he was writing! I haven't read nearly all of his novels in the decades since, but enough to have a pretty good familiarity with the universe that his works share. Now entering my more fearful middle age, I can tell you there is, oddly, something deeply comforting about submerging myself again in his rich, folksy world where heroes ARE heroic, all stories come full circle, and pretty much all nagging questions are eventually put to rest.

The hero of 11/22/63 is Jake Epping, and early on in this novel he is presented with something inconceivable, a sort of wormhole in time. It leads from 2011 Maine to September 9, 1958. You can visit the past for as long as you like--years even--but when you return to the present it's always exactly two minutes later. Every subsequent visit is a "reset." You can change the past (and consequently the present), but as Jake learns, "the past is obdurate." It resists.

There's more to the set-up, of course, but that's all you really need to know. Because with this portal to the past, Jake is set on a mission that would probably be the goal of most every person of a certain age--to stop the Kennedy assassination. I don't think it resonates quite so strongly with those of us who weren't around to remember Camelot, but, sure, 11/22/63 was one of the most pivotal days in this nation's history. It's a day that surely scarred the psyche of every American who remembers it.

For long-time readers like myself, there are some wonderful Easter eggs to be found in 11/22/63, tying back to past novels, and probably to future ones as well.
... Read more ›
Was this review helpful to you?
577 of 633 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Not disappointed November 11, 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I first read about this book a few months ago. While I am a fan of Stephen King, I'm not a huge fan. I don't typically buy his books the day they are released, but when I read the premise for this one I just thought that it was a really neat idea and I couldn't wait for it to be released so that I could read it. Then I got a little nervous about it. From the time I read the teaser I thought that there were so many interesting directions that someone could take this story, but what if it tanks? That's always the pitfall of a really neat idea... what if it fails to really bloom like you think it could? But this is Stephen King. For my review, I'd like to establish that I was born almost 7 years after JFK died. I am not a JFK scholar and I did not read this book trying to hyper-analyze the historical accuracy of the book. I took it as a fictional exploration of a historical event produced not to answer any historical questions but just to entertain and provoke thought. I feel it was very successful on both points. My fears that Stephen King was going to take a great idea and go nowhere with it were definitely unfounded. He also works in all his usual Stephen King "givens"... the story starts in Maine. We even get to "visit" a couple of characters from other Stephen King books and the town of Derry, though the majority of the book is set in Texas of course. On the whole I usually review books based on how well spent I feel my time was in reading it and I am in no way disappointed in this one. If you buy the book I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and thank you for taking the time to read my review.
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars Convolution
Very heavy reading. I found it too convoluted.It took time to get into the story. Unfortunately, although friends recommended it, it was not my cup of tea.
Published 10 hours ago by Ruth
3.0 out of 5 stars too long
The book was good. I had to force myself to continue reading it. I wanted to quit in the middle of it because it was so bogged down in irrelevant details. Read more
Published 18 hours ago by Judy Barton
2.0 out of 5 stars Too much profanity...
We tried to listen to this on a road trip with our two year old, but had to stop due to constant f-bombs that really aren't essential to the story or characters. Read more
Published 19 hours ago by D. Robbins
5.0 out of 5 stars 11/22/63
A very book couldn't put it down. I like happy ending s. But this one really surprised me. A must read.
Published 21 hours ago by Candace Lohr
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome
This book is huge and when it came in the mail I thought I'd never read it or at least never finish it. I read it in a week! Could not put it down. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Claire Thomas-Adams
4.0 out of 5 stars A great literary experience that probably won't stick well
King shows as always what an excellent writer he is with just about any material. The experience of reading this far-out story is the big draw; it may or may not hold up quite as... Read more
Published 1 day ago by Stuffington Fluffypants
5.0 out of 5 stars Jfk
Excellent book. Really makes you think. Takes you back to Times long forgotten and brings back memories that are strong.
Published 1 day ago by T J Sommer
5.0 out of 5 stars a five year adventure
This story had it all, murder mystery, time travel, and love story. All of Mr. Kings books are good, but sometimes the endings leave you feeling a little hollow inside. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Michael Elliott
5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite.
I adore Stephen King and I've read most of his books. This is my favorite one by far. I couldn't put it down.
Published 1 day ago by Joy a.k.a. Schmo
5.0 out of 5 stars amazing book
Once you begin it, you can not stop reading it! Great book, fantastic story! I would recommend it to anyone who like a little fantasy!
Published 1 day ago by vieillechaussette
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Forums

Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions

Topic From this Discussion
Price on new Stephen King book
I just saw the Kindle price and actually said, "UGH!" I know that Amazon can't do anything here, but the Agency Model is actually starting to become ridiculous.
Jun 22, 2011 by Bill Herron |  See all 40 posts
Stop reviewing the price, customer reviews are about the book!
The place to comment about the price of the book is HERE, in the discussion forums. There have been at least two discussions focused on the price of this particular book -- customers are free to start new ones whenever they like (just as J. A. Holten did with this discussion).

I don't have a... Read more
Nov 14, 2011 by kacunnin |  See all 26 posts
Can't wait!
Any King is a good King. I'll read whatever he wants to write about. This sounds fabulous, as always.
Mar 2, 2011 by Debra Moss |  See all 10 posts
Oooh, I spent $150 on an eReader, all books should now be CHEAP!
After reading your entire rant, I have come to the conclusion you have no idea how supply side economics work. You try to dismiss it, but completely fail. It isn't "just because" someone bought an eReader.

In any other market, the reduction of the costs of production and distribution... Read more
Nov 5, 2011 by W. L. Pritchett |  See all 7 posts
Historical inaccuracy?
I picked up on that too. Also he tells someone to "put a sock in it" while in 1958 and I don't think that was an expression back then...probably more in the 90s. One other. He states about something that "it rocks" and that was also not an expression from the Land of Ago. Yes,... Read more
Nov 24, 2011 by SHERRIE |  See all 67 posts
Stephen king 11/22/63 purchase Be the first to reply
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 






Look for Similar Items by Category