Jeff Hecht

Writing about lasers, dinosaurs, fiber optics, optics,
paleontology, and other areas of science and technology

Signed Copies

I have a limited number of signed copies available for City of Light, Beam, Shifting Shores, and Laser:Supertool of the 1980s. Please click SIGNED COPIES if you're interested.

Now Out: Understanding Lasers, 4th edition

Laser technology has come a long way in the past decade, so I have prepared a fourth edition of Understanding Lasers: An Entry Level Guide, adding over a hundred pages of new content. Read more.

Now Out: Lasers, Death Rays, and the Long, Strange Quest for the Ultimate Weapon

My history of laser weapons from the days of Archimedes and Nikola Tesla to the present was published Jan 8, 2019 by Prometheus Books. I called it Lasers, Death Rays, and the Long, Strage Quest for the Ultimate Weapon because it has been a long and strange quest. Now new laser technology is making laser weapons more plausible, although far from an ultimate weapon. Read more

Self-Republishing Guide

After republishing four of my out of print books, I wrote a guide titled Adventures in Self-Republishing. You can read a free short version here on my site or get a full ebook edition from Payhip.

Low-cost versions of Understanding Fiber Optics

Low-cost versions of the fifth and latest edition of Understanding Fiber Optics are now available. You can buy an electronic version in PDF format from PAYHIP.com or from Google Books for $9.95. Paperback print-on-demand copies are available from Amazon for $39.00 plus shipping. A $9.95. Amazon also offers a "print replica" in Kindle format for $9.95 BUT I RECOMMEND IT ONLY FOR READING ON COMPUTER SCREENS because Kindle screens are too small to display the type in readable size. All reprint the 2006 fifth edition, including a revised preface and a short list of errata.

The paper edition is produced by print on demand, a photocopier-like technology, so the type is not quite as sharp as in the original hardcover, but the price is only a small fraction of what a new copy sells for today, if you can find one. I am planning a sixth edition, and wanted to make affordable copies of the fifth edition available in the meantime. For more details, see my Understanding Fiber Optics page.

Signed copies of books by Jeff Hecht

I have a limited number of signed copies available of some of my books. They would make great gifts for people who have worked in the laser and fiber optics industries, or for young readers interested in the evolution of the seacoast. I'd be happy to inscribe them individually to the recipient. All prices include postage and handling in the U.S. Shipping to canada is an additional $15.00. Shipment overseas is an additional $22.50.

City of Light: The Story of Fiber Optics - Hardcover $26 in US

City of Light: The Story of Fiber Optics - Revised edition (Paperback) $25 in US

City of Light: The Story of Fiber Optics - either edition shipped to Canada $40 includes $15.00 in shipping and handling

City of Light: The Story of Fiber Optics - either edition shipped Overseas: $47.50 includes $22.50 in shipping and handling

Beam: The Race to Make the Laser - Hardcover, $24.00 - US ONLY

Laser: Supertool of the 1980s: Trade Paperback, $5.50 - US Only

This is a pop-science book on lasers I co-authored that describes the state of the art in 1981. If you want to show someone new to lasers how much the field has changed, buy them a copy.

Shifting Shores: Rising Seas, Retreating Coastlines - Hardcover, $4.50 US Only

Jul 25, 2016 at 2:28 PM

© Jeff Hecht 2019