Book excerpt: "This textbook -- appropriate for a one-semester course in classical mechanics at the late undergraduate or early graduate level -- presents a fresh, modern approach to mechanics. About 150 exercises, covering a wide variety of topics and applications, have solutions roughly outlined for enhanced understanding. Unique to this text is the versatile application of programming language Mathematica"!throughout to analyze systems and generate results. Coverage is also devoted to the topic on one dimensional continuum systems. The extensive discussions on inverse problems of mechanical systems and the detailed analysis of stability of classical systems certainly make this an outstanding textbook."--Publisher's website