​The Wild Gentleman Book Club - October

​Last month we journeyed south into Mexico with Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses — a kid, an honor code, and a loss of innocence. This month we're changing course entirely: our first work of nonfiction, and maybe the quietly heaviest book we've picked yet — Wendell Berry's The Unsettling of America.

​We'll be meeting on Wednesday, October 21st at 6 PM at Paddy's in Newton.

​The book is the starting point for good conversation; the opportunity to get together and support each other is what matters.

​The idea behind The Wild Gentleman is to bring men together in person to engage with complex ideas through good books. Our previous meetings have created space to dive deeper into character, relationships, love, family, careers, and growth.

​October's Book - The Unsettling of America

​The book for this month is Wendell Berry's The Unsettling of America. We'll be discussing it at our October meetup.

​This one's a departure from a year of novels. It's an argument that Berry, a farmer and writer from Kentucky, first published in 1977 and has never once walked it back: Industrial agriculture is "wrong, root and branch." His case is that how a country farms its land is inseparable from the health of its families, its communities, and its character — and he splits the world into two types of people to make the point. "The exploiter is a specialist, an expert; the nurturer is not. The standard of the exploiter is efficiency; the standard of the nurturer is care. The exploiter's goal is money, profit; the nurturer's goal is health."

​This book is a lot more personal than it seems and is not just a treatise on agriculture. It explores the core of American culture.

​It's denser than McCarthy or Portis, and it's not going to read like an adventure. But for a group that's spent a year on fatherhood, family anxieties, career choices, and more, and what we're actually optimizing for in our own lives, Berry's exploiter-versus-nurturer framing is one of the most useful lenses we'll have picked up all year.

​About The Wild Gentleman Book Club

​The Wild Gentleman Book Club brings men together for conversations that matter. Real discussion about character, purpose, and what it means to live thoughtfully.

​Our monthly gatherings have grown into something rare: A space where men can ask hard questions, challenge ideas, and build genuine community through literature.

​What to expect:

• ​Thoughtful discussion of The Unsettling of America

• ​Connection with men seeking wisdom and community

• ​An environment that values questions over answers

• ​Good conversation over good food and drinks

​What Past Attendees Say

​"We're starved for connection and meaning because we spend our time in the shallows. The Wild Gentleman invites us to go deeper, with people looking to do the same."

​"It starts with the books… and ends at a table of thoughtful men, sharing their own stories and ideas."

​About The Wild Gentleman

​We explore thoughtful masculinity through four core values: Love, Adventure, Wisdom, and Community. Our book club embodies all four — the adventure of tackling challenging literature and meeting new people, the wisdom found in great stories, the love required for vulnerable conversation, and the community we build together.

Follow or sign up for the newsletter here: The Wild Gentleman.

​Location: Paddy's Public House, Newton
When: Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at 6:00 PM
What to bring: An open mind and willingness to engage

​Come as you are. Let's read, think, and grow together.

​New to the group? Great. These conversations are designed for everyone — whether you've read every word, listened to the audiobook, or just barely skimmed the back cover.

Wild at heart. Refined in mind.

​Questions? Contact dennis@thewildgentleman.com