Practical Optical Interferometry is a rare gem of clear and rigorous explanation of an optical technique to image objects on angular scales several hundreds of times small than is practical with our largest telescopes. Although the book is aimed at astronomy, I posit that it is valuable for the development of innovative optical microscopies. Buscher conveys to the reader his vast technical experience and theoretical knowledge on the design, construction and use of interferometric and adaptive optical systems. This guide is ideal for researchers and graduate students. Buscher melds the theory with practical considerations of using devices; the discussion of theoretical and practical limitations is a major component of the book. The sections on measurement noise, practical limitations of adaptive optics, data reduction and the use of Bayesian inference in model fitting are exemplary. The required background mathematics are clearly presented in an appendix on Fourier transforms. The handbook is aided by web resources, including an interferometry simulation framework: www.cambridge.org/9781107042179.
Review by Barry R. Masters, Fellow of AAAS, OSA and SPIE.
The opinions expressed in the book review section are those of the reviewer and do not necessarily reflect those of OPN or OSA.