馬科斯·玻恩（1887-1970）是20世紀最傑齣和最有影響的物理學傢之一，曾對量子力學基礎的奠定做齣過重大貢獻，並因此獲得1954年諾貝爾物理學奬。但他在物理學的其他分支，例如晶格動力學理論方麵的成就也十分突齣。他所創建的哥廷根理論物理學派當時名列世界首位，對物理學的發展産生過很大影響。從1936年到1953年，他一直是英國愛丁堡大學的Tait教授。玻恩著作豐富，一生發錶過論文約；300篇，齣版書著30部——本書《光學原理》的前身Optik（1935）亦為其名著。除諾貝爾奬外，還接受過眾多榮譽。他曾被全世界許多學術團體選為榮譽會員並授予多項名譽學位。

埃米爾·沃耳夫是美國羅切斯特大學的Witson教授，他從英國Bristol大學取得理學士學位和博士學位，並從英國愛丁堡大學獲得理學博士學位。1951年,他在該校加盟馬科斯·玻恩，與其閤作撰寫《光學原理》。他是馬科斯·玻恩的最後一個助手。除《光學原理》外，沃耳夫教授還同L.Mandel共同編寫瞭《光學相乾性和量子力學》（Optical Coherence and Quantum optics）一書，並且是著名刊物《尤學進展》（Progress in optics）的主編。他對光學的貢獻非常之多,乃眾所周知並為多項奬譽包括7個名譽博士所確認。沃耳夫教授曾是1978年美國尤學學會的主席，並且現今仍是該學會的一位名譽會員，同時也是印度光學學會和澳大利亞尤學學會的名譽會員。

Principles of Optics is one of the classic science books of the twentieth century, and probably the most influential book in optics published in the past 40 years. The new edition is the first ever thoroughly revised and expanded edition of this standard text. Among the new material, much of which is not available in any other optics text, is a section on the CAT scan (computerized axial tomography), which has revolutionized medical diagnostics. The book also includes a new chapter on scattering from inhomogeneous media which provides a comprehensive treatment of the theory of scattering of scalar as well as of electromagnetic waves, including the Born series and the Rytov series. The chapter also presents an account of the principles of diffraction tomography - a refinement of the CAT scan - to which Emil Wolf, one of the authors, has made a basic contribution by formulating in 1969 what is generally regarded to be the basic theorem in this field. The chapter also includes an account of scattering from periodic potentials and its connection to the classic subject of determining the structure of crystals from X-ray diffraction experiments, including accounts of von Laue equations, Bragg's law, the Ewald sphere of reflection and the Ewald limiting sphere, both generalized to continuous media. These topics, although originally introduced in connection with the theory of X-ray diffraction by crystals, have since become of considerable relevance to optics, for example in connection with deep holograms. Other new topics covered in this new edition include interference with broad-band light, which introduces the reader to an important phenomenon discovered relatively recently by Emil Wolf, namely the generation of shifts of spectral lines and other modifications of spectra of radiated fields due to the state of coherence of a source. There is also a section on the so-called Rayleigh-Sommerfield diffraction theory which, in recent times, has been finding increasing popularity among optical scientists. There are also several new appendices, including one on energy conservation in scalar wavefields, which is seldom discussed in books on optics. The new edition of this standard reference will continue to be invaluable to advanced undergraduates, graduate students and researchers working in most areas of optics.