Book excerpt: This monograph contains an overview of classical dynamics, providing a solid basis on which to build an understanding of the theory of interplanetary flights. The treatment of the topic is based on both historical and topical perspectives. The theoretical development is illustrated with a number of practical examples, bringing to bear the author's experience gained from working on the Soviet space programme. Many examples are taken from current space missions - new data is included on the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet, the flight of ULYSSES over the Solar poles and the Voyager's tour of the solar system.