Customer Reviews

Optical Resonators: Fundamentals, Advanced Concepts, Applications (Springer Series in Optical Sciences)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is a real pleasure to read. The fundamentals are explained in a clear and sound way. Advanced topics are shown in detail yet in a concise way. The book is outstanding since it also covers valuable information that can be rarely found in other textbooks. This makes it equally suited for the active researcher in the field of optics and lasers, as well as, for students entering the field. The completeness of information makes it fun to read but also provides a good reference. The theoretical concepts provided in the book are good if one wishes to design real-world systems.

Given the good quality of its content, the book should have deserved more attention both in marketing and manufacturing. A clear drawback is the poor print quality. The price also seems to be too high in order to recommend it to students. This book could have far more readers if the price would be lower.

This is one of the best books in optics which I have seen (and I'm a demanding reader). Although this book is on resonators, I used the introductory chapters of this book to learn optics some 10 years ago. The material is presented in rigorous, consistent and logical way, which really facilitates deeply understanding of the subject. I would also say the authors are honest - they are not trying to save themselves time by skipping inconvenient details and explanations. At the same time, the authors are not trying to bombard the reader with every formula and detail they know, so after reading this book, I always had the feeling of satisfaction because I understood most of what I read (rather than the feeling of how stupid I am and how smart the authors are). Judging by the quality and quality of the material, I think this book must the the work of a lifetime of the authors. I think this books deserves to be a classic in resonators, lasers, and optics in general.

I agree that the quality of the print and binding is far from ideal, especially for the $200 price tag. The publisher should really show some respect to the great work done by the authors and improve the quality of the print.

This review is not for the content as I have just received it, but is for the publisher's printing quality. I've purchased quite a few textbooks through my years in college and while working in the laser industry so was quite disappointed when I received this book. First of all, upon receipt, one corner of the book was severely crushed, as if it was dropped on a corner. Not a big thing overall, but just not something I'd expect from someone charging $160 for this title. Secondly, while skimming through a few pages, I thought my contacts were giving me problems because the text was not completely crisp and in a few occasions, it was difficult to distinguish the vector symbols being used in equations. The text was smudgy and the vector notation did not appear to be bolded like it should, while in some places, normal text looked to be bolded when it shouldn't be. Even my $5 mass market paperbacks have better print quality.

I also purchased the latest version (2010) of Koechner's Solid State Laser Engineering at the same time. This title was published by Springer as well and even though it's in softcover form, the printing is very crisp and clear - just as I would regularly expect.

Hopefully this is just a fluke, but if anyone is considering purchasing this volume, be sure to inspect it right away.