Perfection

An expansive and daring book about the complexity of the human project, its possibilities, its limitations, and its inscrutable ambiguity.

~Walter Brueggemann, Professor Emeritus, Columbia Theological Seminary

This is yet another testament of Hyde’s meticulous and wide-ranging scholarship, his attentiveness to details, his keen sense of argument, and his skill in carrying on conversations across disciplinary demarcations.

~Calvin O. Schrag, George Ade Distinguished Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, Purdue University

I enthusiastically recommend what is sure to be another award-winning book by Michael Hyde.

~Barry Brummett, Charles Sapp Centennial Professor in Communication, University of Texas-Austin

Hyde (communication ethics, Wake Forest Univ.) argues that humans "embody a metaphysical desire for perfection," and he aims to show this by reviewing the pertinent thinking of a very large number of writers, from ancient history to the present, in philosophy, religion, science, and the arts--in a sense, the entire "Western canon." His review of the pertinent thinking of the included writers is interesting, engaging, and informative in a way that draws the reader in. To flesh out his inquiry, Hyde goes into detail in two "case studies" that illustrate the metaphysical desire for perfection: "The Rhetorical Situation of Terri Schiavo" and the recent motion picture As Good as It Gets. VERDICT This book should be of interest to a large readership from scholars to lay readers; highly recommended for philosophy and cultural studies collections in most libraries.

~Library Journal