Kindle Price: $9.99

Save $7.00 (41%)

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.

Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

I Am Turtleboy: A teacher turned blogger battles big tech censorship, threats, and political correctness to protect free speech and democracy Kindle Edition

4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 246 ratings

Free speech is a myth. Technically we’re allowed to say what we want and won’t get arrested for it, but we constantly have to self-censor our speech, including our political opinions, for many reasons. You’re allowed to express some opinions, so long as they’re the right opinions. But if you lose your ability to pay your bills as a result of your honest and open speech, then you’re not really free. A handful of social justice warriors in Silicon Valley are able to decide what we can and cannot talk about, and when we can’t openly express controversial opinions in the public square, then we have lost our democracy.

I was a high school history teacher for 11 years and during that time I learned the hard way that my opinions were the wrong opinions. After getting an unpaid suspension for starting a blog called AidanFromWorcester.com, which expressed opinions on issues that the school did not approve of, I decided to create an anonymous blog that would act as the voice of the people – Turtleboy Sports.

Turtleboy started as a hobby but has grown to a website with millions of monthly followers and is now my business. I hire bloggers who pen under nom de plumes because anonymity gives people the freedom to express opinions that many others agree with, but are afraid to say out loud out for fear of consequences. Turtleboy is popular and has grown so quickly because we say what many other people are thinking.

I left teaching in November of 2014 after a blogger from Buffalo wrote a libelous blog about me, alleging that I sexually assaulted a woman in front of 60,000 people at a Patriots-Bills game. The blogger was successfully sued for libel, but so many of my students read it that it became impossible to teach anymore. After the school received hundreds of calls and death threats they offered me a full year’s salary to walk away quietly. I took the money and used is to turn Turtleboy from a hobby into a business.

Turtleboy has broken major stories that the mainstream media couldn’t because we have better sources. We’ve exposed corruption involving the Massacchusetts State Police and politicians that led to the resignation of the 4 highest-ranking members of the MSP. The blog has helped expose contractors and con-artists, drug dealing state troopers, brought criminals to justice, shut down a death factory of a puppy mill, reformed school districts, and exposed insurance fraud, non-profit fraud, sexual abuse, food stamp fraud, fake hate crimes, and many other stories that the mainstream media would never touch.

When I left teaching I felt liberated and free for the first time, but because our bloggers are unapologetic, brutally honest, we get a lot of pushback. We entertain by not only reporting news, but by using language that some might find unsavory. As a result outside forces have used various methods to try to silence the blog. Turtleboy has been the subject of countless boycotts. I’ve been unsuccessfully sued for libel many times; including by a former advertiser who was upset the blog didn’t endorse him for Mayor. I’ve gotten too many death threats to count, had “fuck you” keyed into the hood of my car, and been angrily confronted in restaurants. I’ve had a Facebook page with 112,000 followers removed for wishing people a Merry Christmas, and had 32 business pages taken down since. The blog has been blacklisted by Google AdSense, and my house and phone are permanently banned from creating Twitter accounts.

All of these things have combined to cost my business hundreds of thousands of dollars in just a couple years. But they will never stop Turtleboy because I refuse to censor and give up the rights that our Founding Fathers sacrificed their lives for because people who disagree with us use fear, intimidation, and economic warfare to silence us. When we self-censor we don’t contribute to public discourse in the public square, and in doing so we lose our democracy.

This is the story of Turtleboy.
Read more Read less
Due to its large file size, this book may take longer to download

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07K8CNVYT
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 6, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 15530 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 332 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 246 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Aidan Kearney
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
246 global ratings
Smart teacher
5 Stars
Smart teacher
Aidan provides some very basic experience, not surprising from a history teacher, that shows us the perpetual nature of greed in society. This greed is not simply financial, but about power...the power of liberalism, as Mark Zuckerberg yields, with the active contradiction he sports that Facebook is for the people... It may have been at one time, but apparently it's for c-e-r-t-a-i-n people, who, if they do not think a certain way, are annoyed, harassed, and disposed, with the classic liberal excuses like: it must be a mistake....or, our system did it....or, we're sorry you have been __________ . There are no coincidences, and Aidan knows this, because the history of all zealots is first genius, then greed, then, especially these days, self-victimization followed by an apology. After all, the cry of the liberal is "it's easier to apologize than to seek permission", then the radical liberals, especially, forget to apologize....they go someplace else to take away from somebody else the same rights they insist are theirs. Turtles have a hard outer shell and a soft warm heart, and don't need more than their own space to survive, as compared to other animals who need others' space, and will lie, cheat, and steal, to gain it...leave it in ruins, then go to the next...because nothing is good enough. Long live the Turtle!!! The Turtle IS good enough... Is the US? Is Facebook? Read and ask yourself.
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2019
As a bona-fide Masshole, a devout reader/follower of the blog and a proud turtle rider, I'm giving Mr. Kearney's book the ★5★ star rating it deserves. Not only have I been, like •chronically• entertained by the assortment of quality content published within almost every blog posted since I was first exposed to the likes of TB (℅ a Facebook "friend" of mine - one out of the handful of online-only people to whom I've ever extended a friend request - who *just* so happened to have a penchant for either habitually sharing links to - or posting his personal commentary on - all their most outrageous stories on such a frequent basis that my News Feed would become virtually *inundated* by his activity on a regular basis!) back in the summer of 2016, I wholeheartedly admire Aidan's iron-
willed tenacity, unshakeable constitution, & selfless determination to persevere, even in spite of both overwhelmingly-high amounts of odds stacked against him AND a surplus of perpetually-recurring, überexpensive and time-consuming setbacks in abundance. I fully support the mission of preserving and upholding democracy with the salvation of free speech, promotion of fearless opinion- sharing {regardless of whether or not other perspectives expressed perfectly align with one's own; never a factor of consequence}, and resolution to speak up on the behalf of all people unable or unwilling to voice their *own* mutual thoughts or feelings for any reason - anytime, anywhere, anyone. We all deserve transparency from media sources, just like individuals who publicly exhibit the kind of animalistic, abysmal behavior that'll doubtlessly mark you as a prime target for the widespread ridicule and shame which accompanies becoming Turtleboy-famous deserve to be sterilized and incarcerated at minimum.

WE ARE ALL TURTLEBOY. And we will NEVER be silenced.
4 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2018
Amazon says it will take about 5 hours to read—took me about 2 1/2 hours to read.
I read a website everyday called “PinkTruth” a blog about the damage Mary Kay does to women. When the blog first started it was called, “MaryKaySucks” the blog owner knew in order to be taken more seriously she would have to change her marketing strategies — she changed the name to “Pink Truth” which the blog is still alive and going. I mention this because although I like the name “Turtleboysports” I am glad to learn Aiden wants to start toning down the language in the blog in order to become more marketable. Yes, TBS does expose a ton of corruption —something the Main Stream media won’t- but I never cared for some of the language on the blog. But it’s America- Freedom Of Speech and that is what this book focuses on; Aidan’s fight for Freedom Speech.
Believe it or not his critics who are so invested in shutting him down only made the blog stronger and got more support from the public.
25 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2024
I actually went into reading this book not expecting to love it. Like it?? Sure. But I loved it. He writes as a story teller. He's not just staing facts or recanting a timeline. He's fun. He's simply just fun. I've also had to think alot about who is really running our towns and government today. Mostly our schools. Someone like this author could have been a trendsetter and getting our kids to be excited about learning and actually become productive citizens. Unfortunately, he wasn't celebrated, he was stifled. Still he gave me hope and made me laugh along the way. Inciteful and fun. I'm going to start to find his blogs now too. Love him
One person found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2020
Love him or hate him, this is a phenomenal book. I'm a turtle rider through and through and could not put it down. Extremely well written, awesome backstory of how the blog was started and written in the traditional Turtleboy fashion, no-holds-bar! The people in MA who don't enjoy this blog are probably trash that has been blogged about or their family and friends have been.

The people who shout from the roof tops that Aiden isn't a real journalist are the so-called-journalists that are jealous of the stories he broke on the MA State Police, the RMV after that kid killed a group of bikers in NH, and so many others that ended up in "the Turtleboy graveyard". If you live in New England you should be reading his blogs on the daily as well as this book!
4 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2018
Not only does this book give the "how and why" Turtleboy Sports exists, it also covers so many critical elements of how "free speech" functions (and dysfunctions) in our country today. I have worked in public relations for over 20 years, so my view of the media has always been different than the typical "news consumer." This book has added a great deal to my already vast knowledge of how social media impacts news, and more importantly, it helps to explain why Turtleboy is extremely important and necessary. I've been a fan of Turtleboy Sports for a few years now, but because of this book I have a greater appreciation and respect for both the blog and Aidan Kearney. (Also, the book itself is a fun read, I had difficulty putting it down once I started reading it.)
2 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2018
My name is Amanda. When I saw that Turtleboy wrote a book I did not think twice before buying it! I did not even want to wait for it to be delivered so I of course needed to borrow my moms kindle account. This book was AMAZING. I read a lot of books and tend to be a bit snobby when it comes to grammar and sentence flow. I just can not read a book when it’s not written well! Now I am sorry to say I knew this book would be entertaining because I mean it’s turtleboy. But I was so surprised to see that I did not cringe once reading this! The flow was amazing and not repeative like some people’s first books are. Even if you are not familiar with the turtleboy brand you will enjoy this book!
2 people found this helpful
Report

Top reviews from other countries

starbug79
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the wait
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 2, 2018
A must-read for those that are fans of TBS and even beneficial to those that may not agree with it. You get to see that there is substance behind the colourful language used in the blogs and naysayers may even find themselves converted.

It's great to get an insight into how TBS came about, how it has developed over the years and get a sense of where it is going. The future looks green.
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?