"It has to be said that the quality of these lecture notes is very high indeed: both in terms of scientific content (and especially the tutorial nature of several of the contributions) and also the presentation. The notes are all in a uniform style and have excellent quality diagrams in general ... Overall, these lecture notes are to be highly recommended. They are very readable and instructive and are suitable for a general introduction to each of the areas covered. The authors and editors have worked hard to produce a volume of lasting worth and I believe that they have been very successful." R C Thompson Contemporary Physics, 1993

• Structure and spectroscopy of atoms, C.W. Clark; spin-dependent scattering of electrons from atoms and molecules, J. Kessler; interatomic and intermolecular forces, W.J. Meath; quantization of radiation field and consequences, P.L. Knight; nonclassical states of light, D.F. Walls; interaction of nonclassical states of light and atoms, H.J. Carmichael; structure and spectroscopy of molecules, H. Lefebvre-Brion; the quantum theory of measurement in quantum optics, G.J. Milburn; laser cooling and trapping of atomic particles, V.S. Letokhov; electron-atom reactions, I.E. McCarthy.