Most nursing students approach the required course on theory with distaste, but McEwen (U. of Texas-Houston) and Wills (U. of Louisiana-Lafayette) strive to make it not only useful but also interesting. Their textbook was outlined by a group of instructors frustrated with what was available at the time, includes contributions from a number of colleagues, and is reviewed by peers for each edition. It covers the background of what theory is and what it does, the grand nursing theories, theories nurses borrowed from other fields and keep forgetting to return, and applying theory in nursing practice. Among specific topics are structuring conceptual relations in nursing, grand nursing theories based on human needs, middle range nursing theories, theories from behavioral sciences, learning theories, and applying theory in nursing administration and management. Earlier editions appeared in 2002 and 2007. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)