Trevor L. Brown is Associate Professor at the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at Ohio State University. Matthew Potoski is Professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara. David M. Van Slyke is Professor in the Department of Public Administration and International Affairs at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

• Foreword Stan Soloway; 1. Introduction: the promise and perils of government contracting; 2. Managing complex contracting in theory and practice; 3. The Coast Guard's Deepwater program; 4. Rules in complex contracts; 5. Performance incentives in complex contracts; 6. Complex contracting's promise and pitfalls: win-win and lose-lose; 7. Management strategies for complex contracts; References; Index.

'In this book, the authors bring a fresh, yet sophisticated analytical approach to the challenges that the government faces when entering into high-value, complex contracts. They explore the difficult issues without bias, neither bashing nor coddling either the government or the contracting community. Senior procurement executives and program managers, from defense and civilian agencies, from the public and the private sector, and from the US and other countries, will all benefit by studying and reflecting on the analysis and advice set out in this thoughtful book.' Daniel I. Gordon, Associate Dean for Government Procurement Law, George Washington University Law School and President Obama's Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy (2009–2011)