From the reviews: "It presents a unified approach to the conversion of nonlinear optimal control problems into parameter optimizations for numerical solutions. ... the book is written in a way that is very accessible to the audience. The selection of topics is useful and coherent, and the book is well organized. ... is highly effective in explaining basic ideas of optimal control. ... It can also be a useful reference to engineers and researchers who want to use applied optimal control theories for solving engineering problems ... ." (Yiyuan J. Zhao, International Journal of Robust and Nonlinear Control, Vol. 15 (17), 2005)