An introductory text in nonlinear dynamics and chaos, emphasizing applications in several areas of science, which include vibrations, biological rhythms, insect outbreaks, and genetic control systems. Contains a rich selection of illustrations, with many exercises and examples. Softcover.

Overall, best book on dynamic systems I've found. There is a lot of math but with a basic understanding of calculus, matrix algebra and with time it is understandable (at least in concept), even for a non-mathematician; it is clearly a textbook and does well at this. The concept development is great and walks the reader through developing, in building block fashion, an understanding of components of action in dynamic systems. Strogatz then ties these together toward the end (last 1/3 of book)when introducing the tour-de-force, chaotic systems.

What would it take for 5-stars, in my estimate?
1. I thought the many examples were too esoteric, primarily serving to guide solutions to the chapter exercises. Perhaps examples illustrating dynamics in the accessible world would be a more engaging use of the ~1/3 of the total book space allocated to the examples.
2. It is not until pg. 301 (of 453 text pages) that nonlinear dynamics is assembled into chaos and it's associates. Personally, I would like to see less development of nonlinear dynamics with more emphasis on the later (or at least more of the later).

Overall, an excellent read; it is worthy of a hardcover (next printing?)!

As a physicist I rely on this book a great deal. It is written in an accessible informal style without sacrificing rigor. Many ideas are motivated and first developed using cute example systems, before the more general result is stated. Strogatz's deep familiarity with applications within physics, chemistry and biology is a real plus. Most of all, the book is fun to read and the author conveys a sense of enthusiasm for the subject.

This book provides an exceptional introduction to nonlinear dynamics. Math books are often trapped in equating rigor with formalisms and in compromising intuition to generalities. Strogatz book provides an exemplary guideline how both intuition and rigor may be served to transform a difficult topic into fun reading and highly applicable set of ideas. Here are the key elements of what you will find in this book.

A. The book builds up intuitive understanding of the key ideas of the field
from simple one dimensional dynamics to complex multi-dimensional behaviors.
B. Each chapter contains fascinating applications -- from fireflies synchronization and josephson junction to population dynamics and chaotic laser behaviors-- which are
fun to read and useful if you need to apply dynamics to solve research problems.
C. There are ample exercises and solutions to render this ideal book for self-learners. It provides a relatively broad coverage of the key ideas of the field, without taxing the reader with far corners of little interest.

Nonlinear dynamics and chaos is an excellent introductory book. It explains this complex looking subject in very simple and intuitive fashion. I recommend this book anyone who are interested in chaos/nonlinear dynamics. It even doubles as a fun book!

I think this is one of the best books for understanding the Phase Spaces and Bifurcations. It is really easy to follow and understand, even for people without background on nonlinear subjects. Yet, it is not the right book for engineers to read and start to solve their own detailed problems. People who seeks for a book to get into the subject or who wants to have a nice reference; BUY THIS BOOK. By the way, its price is reasonable.