Optimisation Methods. Henning Tolle. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 1975. 226 pp. Illustrated. Dm 57.70; $24.80.

Abstract

The book is a teaching text in which the author has used problems of types (i) and (ii) to help the student understand the ideas needed in the solution of the control problem, which is clearly his principal interest. The Calculus of Variations, the Pontryagin Maximum Principle and first and second order gradient methods are derived in turn and each is applied to a simple problem from the aerospace field. Finally, the author introduces the basic algorithm of dynamic programming and from the Dynamic Programming Functional Equation derives the HamiltonJacobi Differential Equation. The book is a good introductory test for engineering and mathematical students of Optimal Control. A set of worked examples are provided at the end; although the problems are all from the aerospace field they are accessible to all students. J . H. SIMS WILLIAMS Engineering Anthropometry Methods