Naidu (Idaho State University) introduces the theory and concepts useful for optimizing the control of physical systems which are dynamic and hence described by ordinary differential equations. Written for a second level graduate course, the textbook covers the calculus of variations, the linear quadratic regulator system, discrete-time systems, the Pontryagin minimum principle, and constraints on control and state variables. MATLAB and SIMULINK implementations are provided. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)