Stephen King said in an afterword to his newest novel that he first had the idea for "11/22/63" back in 1972, when he was a young, unpublished novelist.

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At that point, King said, he didn't feel he had the expertise -- or the knowledge -- to write the book. So he set it aside, but never forgot the idea.

Now, nearly 40 years later and with nearly 350 million copies of his books in print, we finally get King's thoughts on the possibility of changing history by preventing Lee Harvey Oswald from killing President Kennedy.

It's a good story that will take its place in the pantheon of good novels involving time travel, even if the ending isn't all that surprising to those who like the genre. But what I found the most interesting was the reaction of his main character -- who was born in 1976 -- when he stepped out of 2011 into September 1958.

We all know the technological changes -- no cell phones, no personal computers, only three channels of television and none at all that broadcast 24 hours a day. But what about some of the other differences? What about food and drink that isn't loaded with preservatives? It may not keep for long, but it tasted a whole lot better.

What about an economy that still included millions of good-paying blue-collar jobs

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