A complete basic undergraduate course in modern optics for students in physics, technology, and engineering. The first half deals with classical physical optics; the second, quantum nature of light. Solutions.
You will not find a more clear, fast introduction to classical and even some nonlinear optics. If you do optics, buy this book. It is too cheap and good not to own.
Cheap, succinct, and clearly written, this was a great optics primer. If you're not scared of math, I highly recommend this, well, textbook, if you're making your foray into the exciting world of wave mechanics!
One of the best physics books I have ever trawled through. It has enormously improved my understanding of Maxwell's equations, light in matter, radiation emission, quantum mechanics, spectroscopy and laser physics. The quality and value of the Dover physics and mathematics series can't be beaten as far as I have seen.