The book begins with a concise description of the earth's gravity field in terms of potential theory. After a quick refresher on matrices and orbital elements, Kaula proceeds to describe the motion of an artificial satellite. In particular, he provides a detailed analysis of gravity field perturbations upon the evolution of the orbital elements including secular effects and resonance effects. The final chapters are concerned with modeling observations used to track satellites, using the observations to estimate the true motion of the satellite, and estimating geodetic information from the motion of the satellite.

Although first published in 1966, this book remains one of the best volumes available on satellite theory and geodesy. It is still used as a reference and textbook by many if not most experts in the field. However, the work is certainly not perfect. Kaula gives a concise and complete coverage of the subject, but it comes at the cost of loads of equations with little explanatory text. This can make it somewhat difficult to follow. It is certainly not written as a popular guide for the general public. Nevertheless, many astrodynamicists are delighted to have this volume available from the good folks at Dover.