In the fourty-seven years that have gone by since the first volume of Progress in Optics was published, optics has become one of the most dynamic fields of science. The volumes in this series which have appeared up to now contain more than 300 review articles by distinguished research workers, which have become permanent records for many important developments. - Backscattering and Anderson localization of light - Advances in oliton manipulation in optical lattices - Fundamental quantum noise in optical amplification - Invisibility cloaks