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Time for a Turning Point: Setting a Course Toward Free Markets and Limited Government for Future Generations

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From the bestselling author of The MAGA Doctrine !

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk shares a vision for America’s future embracing first principles, free markets, and small government. Kirk provides a roadmap on how to return to a free America, with an emphasis on reaching our youth and engaging them in the process.

During the 2016 Presidential election cycle, it has become clear that there is growing frustration on the part of many Americans with the general direction of the nation. There has been an abandonment of the principles of free markets and limited government upon which America was founded. We didn't get to this point over just the last eight years and it’s going to take more than one or two election cycles to reverse it.

In Time for a Turning Point Charlie Kirk shows exactly what needs to be done and how it needs to be done to restore America's freedom. This is a book of hope, not despair—book of action, not condolences.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 4, 2016

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About the author

Charlie Kirk

10 books764 followers
Charlie Kirk was the Founder and President of Turning Point USA, a national student movement dedicated to identifying, organizing, and empowering young people to promote the principles of free markets and limited government.

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5 stars
161 (65%)
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12 (4%)
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19 (7%)
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
Profile Image for Clay Davis.
Author 4 books164 followers
September 12, 2025
This book tells the history of a new political movement and reveals the genius of its founder. Read this work to honor a great man.
Profile Image for Laura (Laura and Literature).
378 reviews23 followers
September 19, 2025
Informative and well written.

I learned a lot about our government and how it functions. I never gave much thought to big vs small government systems and this book helped broaden my understanding.

This book was educational and it made me think. 💭

I recommend!
1 review
October 26, 2018
This book was truly an eye-opening, ground-breaking read. This book really hit home the turning point our country is making with the recent conservative youth movement in our campuses. This book addressed the majority liberal professors and how conservative students should battle this. I loved how everything was displayed in a clear, factual basis. This book has made me into a big Charlie Kirk fan. Not just because he is regularly a guest on major news networks, but because he paints a clear, vivid portrayal of the current issues young conservatives face on campuses. All in all, this book is a great read and I recommend this book to anyone.
8 reviews
September 14, 2025
Great book by a great guy. May he rest in peace. May are youth carry on the torch he has passed down.
4 reviews
June 28, 2020
Would not recommend save your money
21 reviews
October 14, 2018
Refreshing

Book was well written and very informative. Charlie Kirk is a refreshing young man with a deep knowledge of our constitution.
Profile Image for Mike Lisanke.
1,340 reviews30 followers
September 24, 2025
It took me 40 years since my grade school education to come to the same complete awareness of our political system and the corruption of the collectivist class (autocrats of any ilk commie/socialist/fascist/nazis/islamist/etc) who only want Complete control of the American peoples' lives. Big Government SUX. It's possible Any government sux but then we might not have roads (and an interstate highway system (my argument)). Charlie reveals himself as an individual and deal maker; he knows that the teams we've joined for what ever reason (including, the other side is f'ing crazy) means we sometimes accept positions which aren't our own... Charlie and I don't do that... we argue when their team is wrong And when our team is wrong. QED

At 22 y.o. Charlie Kirk was one smart guy (as the Blues Brothers would say) On a Mission from God.
Profile Image for Casey Randall.
1 review
September 28, 2025
Should be required reading for every 17-18 year old. This will absolutely be a text I have my kids read when they are older.
Profile Image for Paul Kimbrough.
31 reviews1 follower
September 25, 2025
Excellent read. Charlie did a great job describing our current political environment. The conservative movement of TPUSA, us designed for high achoo and college student to help them understand the political environment we are all facing. I’ve been following him in his debates for a long time.
Profile Image for Negin.
773 reviews147 followers
November 1, 2025
I am so saddened by the fact that Charlie is no longer with us. I cannot even begin to imagine what his wife, his entire family, and loved ones have been going through. Immediately after Charlie’s assassination, I realized that I already have two of his books on my Kindle and had yet to read them, hence why I started on this. He wrote this one when he was only 21. He will be missed forever.



Here are some of my favorite quotes.

This one broke my heart
“I’m only in my early 20s and I am assuming, perhaps naïvely, that I will live an actuarially normal life. I have more than 50 years remaining. This is going to be a long game. The challenges that America faces were not created just over the last several years under the Obama administration (although it certainly could seem that way).”

Tax the Rich
“According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, the top 1 percent of Americans paid 45.7 percent of the individual income taxes in 2014 — up from 43 percent in 2013 and 40 percent in 2012 (the oldest period available). The bottom 80 percent of Americans paid 15 percent of all federal income taxes in 2014 and the bottom 60 percent are expected to pay less than 2 percent of federal income taxes.”

Why such Hatred Towards Western Civilization?
“In the spring of 2016 the students at Stanford University were asked to vote on whether the school should require a course to be taken in Western Civilization as part of general education requirements. Up until the 1980s such a course had been required. The proposal was defeated by a vote of 1,992 to 347. The vote so bothered my friend and political commentator Dennis Prager that he felt compelled to write a column about it. Here is part of what he wrote: …So, the Big Question is, why? Why is the left hostile toward Western civilization? After decades of considering this question, I have concluded the answer is this: standards. The left hates standards — moral standards, artistic standards, cultural standards. The West is built on all three, and it has excelled in all three. Why does the left hate standards? It hates standards because when there are standards, there is judgment. And leftists don’t want to be judged. Thus, Michelangelo is no better than any contemporary artist, and Rembrandt is no greater than any non-Western artist. So, too, street graffiti — which is essentially the defacing of public and private property, and thus serves to undermine civilization—is “art.”….
…And finally, we come to the left’s loathing of the religions of Western civilization—the Judeo-Christian religions, which have clear standards of right and wrong. Bible-based religions affirm a morally judging God. For the left, that is anathema. For the left, the only judging allowed is leftists’ judging of others. No one judges the left — neither man nor God. We all need to understand and accept that my friend is right. What we are seeing on college campuses today reflects a deep and abiding hatred of all that we have been and all that we are. The university culture is one that suggests that they are transcendent. They are moving away from the flawed past of the West and opening a new pathway to enlightenment and truth. The truth as they see it. I prefer the truth of our founders.”

Unite on Common Ground
“… we need to get people to stop insulting each other and unite on common ground. I’ve discovered that the same people who support Bernie Sanders cheer out loud when they see a ‘Big Government Sucks’ sign on a college campus. Yet those same people will tell you they don’t like conservatives or ‘right wingers.’ We have to get these people to come together and realize just how much they have in common. While we are fighting amongst ourselves, big government collectivists are busy doing their best imitation of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel and not letting the crisis go to waste. They are taking away our freedom.”
6 reviews
November 27, 2025
Ever since I got into reading, Charlie's books have been on my reading list, and everytime he released a new book, I would add it to the list. Now because I have been listening to, watching, and following Charlie for the past decade--ever since I gained an interest in politics really--I always, like with so many other political figures that I follow, kept pushing the date that I would read his books back further and further. I always assumed that because I liked Charlie, and agreed with him on most things, and because I knew what he believed, I could hold off on actually sitting down to read his works. I also assumed, naively, like Charlie stated in Time for a Turning Point that: "[He's] only in [his] early 20s and [we can] assum[e], perhaps naively, that [he] will live an actuarially normal life. [That he has] more than 50 years remaining. This is going to be a long game." Sadly that wasn't the case. Charlie was assassinated on September 10th, 2025 in Orem, Utah while speaking at the first event of TPUSA's The American Comeback Tour for the Fall 2025 Semester. Charlie spoke, and he spoke the truth, and they--the left--killed him for it. Charlie's assassination deeply moved me, I was in a state of deep sadness for a at least a week, I cried, and I even felt a sense of demonic energy in the air the night of September 10th when I woke up in the middle of the night, and could not fall back asleep. But Charlie's works were immediately moved to the top of my reading list. I was reading The Art of Cross-Examination: With the Examinations of Important Witnesses in Some Celebrated Cases by Francis L. Wellman at the time of Charlie's assassination, and I would have started Charlie's work as soon as I finished reading that however I was on temporary active duty orders to The Naval Justice School, Naval Station Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, so: (1) I did not trust having anything mailed onto-base; and (2) I knew that in a few short weeks, I would have to ship all of my belongings back across the Country when I moved back to Twentynine Palms, California. So I made the decision to read Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years after The Art of Cross-Examination because I was already planning on doing so, and therefore was already in possession of it in Newport. Finally, upon my arrival back in Twentynine Palms, I had less than 1 chapter of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years left to read, and then I could embark on Charlie's works.

That leads us to this moment, where I have completed reading Time for a Turning Point: Setting a Course Toward Free Markets and Limited Government for Future Generations. It's a great book. But what I enjoyed most was being able to read this book (written by Charlie in 2016), with all of the knowledge of all of the events that have transpired in American politics since then, until now in late 2025. I got to see how much Charlie's political philosophy has truly evolved in that timeframe, while remaining true to the First Principles. I found myself constantly reminiscing about Charlie while reading because I in a very real, political sense grew up on Charlie Kirk, he not only greatly influenced my political philosophy, worldview, and outlook on life, but I watched him become one of the most politically influential persons in all of American history, a husband, a father--a man. And I became a man alongside with him.

They say you don't know how much something means to you until its gone. Boy was that true with Charlie. I never realized how much he meant to the right, how much he meant to America, and how much he meant to me. And by extension, I never realized how ungrateful I was for Charlie. Charlie would've been President someday. That is a fact. If you are an American patriot you will read this book.

I thank you so much Charlie for what you did for the right, America, and what you did for me. You ultimately gave your life for us, and we will never forget it, and we will forever be indebted to you for it. Your sacrifice can never be in vain. I love you, and rest in peace.
Profile Image for Foad Ansari.
272 reviews45 followers
November 26, 2025
Time for a turning Point نووسینی چارلی کرک (بەشی 1)
ماوەیکە خەریکی خوێندنی کتێبی چارلی کرکم بە ناوی کات بۆ خاڵی وەرچەرخان. هەڵبەت ئەگەر ڕاست بێژبم چارلی کرکم نەدەناسی و پاش ئەوکارەساتە دەڵتەزێنە و تێرۆری چارلی کرک لەگەڵ بیروبۆچوونەکانی ئاشنا بووم. دەمزانی چارلی کرک لەبەرەی ڕاستەو لە هەڵبژاردنەکانی ئامریکا پاڵپشتی ترامپ دەکات.
بەڵام ئەوەش زۆر سەرەنج ڕاکیشە کە لەم تەمەنە چەند کتێبی نووسیوە کە پێم وایە ئەم کتێبە کە باسی دەکەم گرنگترین و باشترینیان بێت. ئەم کتێبەم جارێک تەواو نەکردووە و تەنانەت نیوەشم نەخوێندووە بەڵام پێم خۆش بوو تۆزێک لەسەری بنووسم و ئاماژە بە چەند خاڵی گرنگ بکەم.
کتێبەکە ئەتوانین بڵین ژیاننامەی هزری چارلی کرکە لەبەر ئەوەی چارلی کرک باسی دامەزراندنی Turning Point USAدەکات و دەڵێ چۆن و لەبەر چ هۆکارێک ئەم دامەزراوەمان درووست کرد و ئامانجی پاڵپشتی کردن و ڕیکلام کردن بۆ بەرەی ڕاست و کۆنپارێز لە ئامریکا بوو، ئەتوانین بڵین بیرۆکەکانی چارلی کرک تێکەڵێکە لە لیبڕالیسمی ئەمریکی و بیرۆکەی باوکە دامەزرێنەرەکانی ئامریکا لەگەڵ ڕێبازی ئابووری ئوتریشی.
پێشتر بە هۆی حەزی خۆم لە بیت کۆین و کریپتۆ لەسەر کتێبەکان و وتارەکانی هایک و فەن میزێس خویندنەوەی زۆرم بوو، ئەزانم کە ئابووری ئوتریشی ئامانجی ئەوەیە دەوڵەت زۆر بچووک بکاتەوە و تەنیا ئاسایش و سوپا لە ژێر حوکمی دەوڵەت بێت، تەنانەت چاپ کردنی پارە نابێ ئەرکی دەوڵەت بێت و دەبێ لح ژێر فەرمانی بانکی ناوەندی بێت.
چارلی کرک باوری بەم بیروکە هەیە تەناەنەت کیشەی ئیلۆن ماسک لەگەڵ ترامپیش هەر ئەم شتەیە ئیلۆن ماسک پێ وایە دەبێ دەوڵەت و لق و پۆەکانی چکۆلە بێتەوە و ترامپ لەگەل ئەم بیرۆکەیە نیە و خۆتان دەبینن چۆن نرخی گواستنەوەی کاڵا لە جیهان دەگۆڕێت.
بەشی دووەم:
بابەتێکی دیکە وا لەم کتێبە باس دەکرێ ڕەخنەیە لە کۆمپانیا گەورەکانی بیمە وا لەگەڵ دەوڵەت ڕێکەوتنیان هەیە و زوربەیان تووشی گەندەڵی هاتوون. هەروەها باسی یاسای Obamacare دەکات کە لە ساڵی 2010 لە لایەن دەوڵەتی ئامریکا پەسەند کرا. هەوڵی چارلی کرک و کۆماریخوازەکان بۆ کەم کردنەوەی گەندەڵی لەم کتێبە بە ڕوونی دیارەو پاش هەڵبژاردنیش لە لایەن ئیلۆن ماسک ئەم پڕۆژەیە با ناوی DOGE بە وردی لەم بوارەیە کاری دەکرد و سەرکەوتنی زۆریشی بەدەست هێنا.
یەکێ لە هەوڵەکانی دیکەی چارلی کرک پشتیوانی کردن لە کۆمپانیا بچووکەکان بوو بەرامبەر بە کۆمپانیا گەورە و پاوانخوازەکان وەکوو Antitrust بۆ بەهێز کردنی بازاڕی ئازاد، لە ڕاستیدا کێبەرکێ و ڕکابەری لە بازاڕی ئازاد و ئاسانکاری بۆ سووڕاندنی چەرخی ئابووری یەکم مەرجی لیبڕالیسمە و چارلی کرک خۆی بە شوێن کەوتووی ئەو ڕێبازە پێناسە دەکات و دەڵێ کۆمپانیا گەورەکان لە گەڵ دەوڵەتی ئامریکا خەریکی گەندەڵین و ئەمەش بووەتە ڕێگرێک بۆ گەشەی ئابووری لە ناو کۆمپانیا بچووکەکان.
بابەتێکی دیکە وا چارلی کرک باسی دەکات جیاکردنەوەی بیمە لە کار یان پیشەیە، ئەو ئەڵێ بیمەی تەندروستی نابێت پێوەندیدار بە شوێنی کار کردن بێت واتە کەسێک نابێ بیمەی خۆی لەدەس بدات تەنیا لەبەر گۆڕینی کار. واتە بیمە دەبێت بە شێوەیکی سەربەخۆ و لە ئەستۆی کەرتی تایبەت بێت بۆ ئەوەی هەرکەس بتوانێت بە ئازادی تەواو هەڵبژێرێت و ئەم کارەش ناڕاستەوخۆ دەبێتە هۆی کەم کردنەوەی دەسەڵاتی حکوومەت لە سەر ژیانی خاڵک.


بەشی سێ:
چارلی کرک سەردانی هەموو کۆڕ و زانکۆکانی دەکرد بۆ ئەوەی لەگەڵ خەڵک وتووێژ بکات و زۆرتریش بەرەوڕووی ڕەخنەی زۆر لە لایەن چەپ و فێمێنیست و جێندێریست و ڤۆکیست دەبوا. هەربۆیە ئاساییە لەم کتێبەش باسی هەندێک لەو ڕەخنانە بکات و وڵامی خۆی و بیرۆڕای خۆی زۆرتر شی بکاتەوە.
یەکێ لەو شتانە وا خەڵک زۆر باسی دەکات کۆمپانیا گەورەکانی وەکوو ئوبێرە ئەوان دەڵێن ئۆبێر شۆفێرەکانی کردووە بە کۆێلەی خۆی و دەسەڵاتی زۆری درووست کردووە و دەوڵەتیش ناتوانێ کۆنتڕۆڵی ئەم دۆخە بکات و لە ڕاستیدا شۆفێرەکان بوونەتە بەڵێندەری سەربەخۆ و تەنانەت ئاسایشی کار یان job’s Security یان نیە.
بەڵام چارلی کرک وڵام ئەداتەوە پێش درووست بوونی کۆمپانیا lift,Uber شارەوانی نیویۆرک یان ئەو شارەوانیەکانی دیکە بۆ مۆڵەت و ئیجازە دان هەندێ جار نزیکەی 1 ملیۆن دۆلاریان لە خاوەن تاکسی وەردەگرت، لە ڕاستیدا لاپەڕەیکی کاغەزیان لە بەرامبەر پارەیکی خەیاڵی دەفرۆشت کە ئەویش بووە هۆی گەندەڵیکی زۆر لە لایەن دەوڵەت، ڕێک وەکوو وڵاتانی ئێمە لە ڕۆژهەڵاتی ناوەڕاست. بەڵام ئۆبێر دەرفەتی کارکردنی بۆ هەموو کەس ڕەخساند و نرخی تاکسیش لە ئامریکا دابەزی لە ڕاستیدا بازار خۆی ڕێک دەخات و نرخی گونجاو بێ ئەوەی دەوڵەت یان یەکیەتی شۆفێرانی تاکسی ئەو نرخە دیاری بکەن لە لایەن بازاڕی ئازاد دیاری کرا.

Profile Image for Brian Matthews.
37 reviews
November 5, 2025
Listened to the audiobook after Charlie’s assassination. I knew who he was before, but wanted to hear his thoughts and ideas that made someone feel like they had to take him out. 2 stars more so reflects that I don’t enjoy political books or politics in general. He wrote this book when he was my age and did a better job than if I tried to write a book, and he didn’t have chatgpt to help! I overall agree with the idea that less government is better and tend to agree with individualistic ideas and polices. I thought it was really interesting how he explained that people side with the political party that aligns with people’s biggest issue (abortion, taxes, etc). Also liked the comparison he made to political parties being more like teams and trying to defeat one another than work together. In conclusion, I believe Americans have far more in common than different when presented with the same set of facts, but getting the same set of facts is difficult when people profit off of division and hatred.
20 reviews
November 16, 2025
Writing for this book was completed in May of 2016, so it’s pre-Trump general election win in November.

Charlie talks about his organization (Turning Point USA) with passion and detail. It’s well done and I understand the origins and mission now. But most importantly, he laid out a way to talk about our politics outside of dated terms (Left and Right) that not only don’t fit our system and country but cause us to talk past each other and knee jerk defend our “team.”

He convinced me of two things: term limits; and one that merely reinforces a previous belief: Big government sucks. He’s articulate and this is the most I’ve read of him or seen his thoughts. I’d only seen the short videos on campuses and his supporters and detractors. Here’s the thing, Charlie Kirk was a moderate on most issues and a really reasonable guy who just wanted a conversation without labels or help the country he loves.
Profile Image for Jordan Courage.
77 reviews
October 20, 2025
🎧 Like many Americans as of late, I wanted to know more about Charlie Kirk and his foundation Turning Point. I agreed with many of his claims but wanted to understand the foundational truths he built TPUSA upon. I was surprised to find that there wasn’t much on his religious beliefs at all. After 13 years, many of his college debates turned into conversations circled around his moral ethics. Ones like abortion; heavily emotional topics that caused uproar in his opponents. In reality, his perspectives on free markets and limited government can be agreed upon by a majority of Americans if they just took the time to read his work. RIP Charlie Kirk- an astounding young man that stood firm in his convictions and fought for a better America 🇺🇸🕊️✝️
1 review
October 17, 2025
Really well written and was very informative. Besides the input of his story and TP USA’s the book was based on truths of past American history with factual data to make his claim. I learned so much from this book and will read it again to gain even more clarity on topics. I really wish I was paying more attention while he was alive but in his honor I will research a lot going forward and make sure it’s from credible sources so I don’t become brainwashed and unable to think for myself. Thanks again Charlie, and may God bless your beautiful family abundantly. You will never be forgotten!
1 review
October 13, 2025
It’s insane to think a 22 year old ,only 2 years older than me, Charlie could have such foresight and deep knowledge about the country, its founding ideals, and its current youth and how to connect all 3. In was truly inspiring to read this and to have to honor of seeing just a fraction of what went on in Charlie’s mind.
Profile Image for Susan Dunn.
107 reviews
October 15, 2025
Excellent and Educational

I learned more political science and civics from this book than I ever learned from college professors. Read it and educate yourself on individualism vs collectivism, the examples of all failed attempts at socialism and the history of right and left in politics. I would wager it is not what you think.
Profile Image for Regina.
171 reviews2 followers
November 3, 2025
Although written in 2016, I learned quite a bit listening to this. Great book for teens and college students wanting to understand more about how government works and why Charlie started Turning Point USA.
364 reviews4 followers
November 13, 2025
Like some I had never heard of Charlie Kirk until his passing. Upon reading this book I learned a lot of government tactics and strategies. Although I don’t agree 100% with what he says a lot makes sense and some things to think about from a left vs right prescriptive.
Profile Image for Mike Kerr.
Author 3 books2 followers
September 25, 2025
A very unconvincing personal viewpoint that would appeal only to people who want to be convinced by cherry-picked examples
Profile Image for Thomas Reimler.
1 review2 followers
October 8, 2025
Kirk is My Captain

Encouraging book. Worth five stars not for its literary value but for its clarity of ideals, and the integrity of Charlie. Oh, Captain, My Captain.
1 review
October 13, 2025
Rest in Peace, Charlie

First book of Charlie’s I have read, post his death. Hard to read knowing his efforts resulted in his premature death. Remarkable person.
Profile Image for Heather Awtrey.
5 reviews5 followers
October 19, 2025
So brilliant at 22 years old when he wrote this book. So sad that he didn’t have as much time as he thought!
9 reviews
October 23, 2025
The start of turning point

Did not know much about Charlie Kirk or what he was about. This book explains a lot about how the organization got started.
17 reviews
October 1, 2025
Started during college and stopped when classes, CPAC, COVID, and mission began
The hypothetical ideal life of a man in a country with limited, efficient government
Don't remember much, but I remember really enjoying it
3 reviews
October 4, 2025
Loved diving deeper into the actualization of Charlie’s dream, the process, and determination involved in putting this entire organization into practice. Detailed and informative
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