The 531-page Photonics and Lasers: An Introduction addresses laser light, light-based communication and the propagation, generation and detection of light. Developed by the author as he taught courses, it is designed to serve as a textbook for a one- or two-semester course at the graduate or undergraduate levels and as a resource for engineers in optics, laser electronics and telecommunications. Without relying on complex mathematics, it covers topics such as pulsed lasers, planar waveguides, nonlinear optics, optical amplifiers, optical and photodiode detectors, Gaussian beam optics and CW laser characteristics. Problem sets are included, along with charts, diagrams and a bibliography. Richard S. Quimby; John Wiley & Sons Inc., Hoboken, N.J., 2006; $99.95.