Do you need to be North American to enjoy this book?

**jimson** · March 15th, 2013

Originally Posted by carrie's younger brother

That's a pretty broad statement there. I really don't think it's true at all. You're thinking pretty ethnocentrically.

Not really. As much as any, from the Cuban missile crisis, the "I am a Berliner" speech, Vietnam etc. I think the Kennedy Presidency was pretty significant world wide.

**jimson** · March 15th, 2013

I also think that more than pretty much any other US President, he was internationally admired.

**mustangclaire** · March 15th, 2013

I live in England, I enjoyed the book immensley... so read away.

**unclelouie** · March 15th, 2013

Originally Posted by carrie's younger brother

That's a pretty broad statement there. I really don't think it's true at all. You're thinking pretty ethnocentrically.

Yeah, ever seen a Jay Leno or Howard Stern street interview? Half the people in the country dont even know how the Speaker of the House or Vice President is. And the other half think MLK abolished slavery. haha

**jimson** · March 16th, 2013

Originally Posted by unclelouie

Yeah, ever seen a Jay Leno or Howard Stern street interview? Half the people in the country dont even know how the Speaker of the House or Vice President is. And the other half think MLK abolished slavery. haha

Well then, it would resonate no less to Europeans than to half of this country, would it?

**Walter Oobleck** · March 16th, 2013

Do you need to be North American to enjoy this book?

Reminds me of stamp collecting. You can have my stamp collection when you can pry it from...my gluey little hands. Yes, little.
But back in the day, JFK was an honored and well-liked man...even given his faults...that weren't as well known as they are today.
Marilyn thought she'd be the First Lady...it's true...I read it in a book.
And worldwide, his image was on stamps from around the world.
So, I'd say, one need not be a North American to enjoy the read.
Stamp collectors from around the world w/his image in their book will fondly remember Camelot.

**champ1966** · March 16th, 2013

I don't think you need to know who JFK was at all for the novel to work for you.Replace JFK with a fictional character and you still have the same result.The whole saving his life and changing history reminds me so much of the Greg Stillson character in The Dead Zone same senatio just in reverse

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JFK is really just a minor character in the plot IMO.The main crux of the story is the love affair and the butterfly effect

May I suggest a read of Stephen Fry's Making History a similar story whereby going back and preventing Hitler's birth has an unpleasent reaction

**doowopgirl** · March 16th, 2013

I agree with what everyone says here, but perhaps this story just isn't doing it for you. Also, sometimes a story sits better on a second time around.

**The Nameless** · March 19th, 2013

I am from England, and was born almost 20 years after JFK and I have enjoyed the book twice. To be honest, the 2 main premises for the book are right there and known from the beginning - Man goes back in time, the aim is to stop JFK's death. They happen very early at the start and late on at the end of the book, an interest in them may be beneficial, but the main story is why he is the right man for the job, and when he goes back in time, how he uses his inside knowledge, who he meets along the way, what friendships and relationships he builds up. All (well, most) of those things are not sci-fi based, and there are no typical Stephen King monsters. The bulk of the book is just beautifully written fiction.

**Chris1974100** · 2 Weeks Ago

Im a filipino, I enjoyed reading 11/22/63, great historical novel not perfect but its good, and yeah President Kennedy is just a minor character here its Jake, Sadine, Oswald are the major character in this novel