Customer Reviews

Lasers (Wiley Series in Pure and Applied Optics)

5 star:		(2)
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The hardest part about writing any scientific textbook is balancing readability with volume of content. Generally, authors fall into two categories: those including far too much material and those presuming too much prior knowledge on the part of the reader. Milonni and Eberly have found the perfect compromise in LASERS. While an excellent advanced undergrad or intermediate grad. text, it isn't as exhaustive as Siegman's LASERS. On the other hand, it contains peripheral material about non-linear optics which many texts on lasers should include, but don't. LASERS is perfect for proceeding further with more in depth studies of advanced topics in lasers (as treated in Siegman). There are only 2 faults I can find with the book: one is technical, the other editorial. In the technical area, its discussion of Q-switching is a bit trite and shallow. A topic as important as this should receive a little more attention. It would be nice to see an updated volume reflecting recent advances in technology. The authors did such a nice job the first time around, it shouldn't take alot of effort to include perhaps one more chapter on current trends in lasers.

I first wrote the one and only review for this book a decade ago and a decade after the book's publication. Well the authors have FINALLY updated the book: Laser Physics.

Apparently M & E were content to reside in the "J.D. Jackson" school of textbook writing.

I haven't looked into the new edition, but my gut says it's WAY too late and probably just another face now in a very crowded CROWD. At least they hit a home run the first time out.