This study charts the origins and spread of the systems movement. It describes the major players - including RAND, MITRE, Ramo-Wooldrige (later TRW), and the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis - and examines applications in a wide variety of military, government, civil, and engineering settings. The book is international in scope, describing the spread of systems thinking in France and Sweden. The story it tells helps to explain engineering thought and managerial practice during the last sixty years.