An addition to the “Press Monograph” series, the volume Optics Made Clear: The Nature of Light and How We Use It describes in a nontechnical style many of the natural phenomena caused by light and the optical devices that use it. It has a chapter on the basic phenomena of optics and one on basic optical components and instruments. It includes natural optical phenomena found in the environment, such as solar variability, mirages, rainbows and lightning. William L. Wolfe; SPIE Press, Bellingham, Wash., 2007; $46, SPIE members; $56, nonmembers.