Mathematics is playing an ever more important role in the physical and biological sciences, provoking a blurring of boundaries between scientific disciplines and a resurgence of interest in the modern as well as the cl- sical techniques of applied mathematics. This renewal of interest, both in research and teaching, has led to the establishment of the series Texts in Applied Mathematics (TAM). Thedevelopmentofnewcoursesisanaturalconsequenceofahighlevelof excitement on the research frontier as newer techniques, such as numerical and symbolic computer systems, dynamical systems, and chaos, mix with and reinforce the traditional methods of applied mathematics. Thus, the purpose of this textbook series is to meet the current and future needs of these advances and to encourage the teaching of new courses. TAM will publish textbooks suitable for use in advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, and will complement the Applied Ma- ematical Sciences (AMS) series, which will focus onadvanced textbooks and research-level monographs. Pasadena, California J.E. Marsden New York, New York L. Sirovich College Park, Maryland S.S. Antman Preface This book is based on a two-semester course in ordinary differential eq- tions that I have taught to graduate students for two decades at the U- versity of Missouri. The scope of the narrative evolved over time from an embryonic collection of supplementary notes, through many classroom tested revisions, to a treatment of the subject that is suitable for a year (or more) of graduate study.