"Hoy shows that it is possible to bring the French, German, and Anglo-American critical traditions into meaningful relationship without blurring the distinctions that separate them. ... For an understanding of Gadamers relevance to current criticism, his book is indispensable; many will find it useful as a synoptic account of the critical theories that have become prominent." --Wallace Martin, Comparative Literature "An extremely useful compendium of the nature and status of contemporary disputes about the contribution of hermeneutic philosophy--both regarding te interpretation of literary texts and more generally regarding epistemological puzzles linking the Anglo-American analytic tradition with current Continental work. There has been a while raft of books of this genre, but Hoy's nine-page introduction is certainly one of the clearest and most succinct reviews of the central issues." --Joseph Margolis, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism