Following the recent developments in the field of absolute stability,
Prof. Xiaoxin Liao, in conjunction with Prof. Pei Yu, has created a
second edition of his seminal work on the subject. Liao begins with an
introduction to the Lurie problem and Lurie control system, before
moving on to the simple algebraic sufficient conditions for the absolute
stability of autonomous and non-autonomous ODE systems, as well as
several special classes of Lurie-type systems. The focus of the book
then shifts toward the new results and research that have appeared in
the decade since the first edition was published. This book is aimed to
be used by undergraduates in the areas of applied mathematics, nonlinear
control systems, and chaos control and synchronisation, but may also be
useful as a reference for researchers and engineers. The book is
self-contained, though a basic knowledge of calculus, linear system and
matrix theory, and ordinary differential equations is a prerequisite.