Book excerpt: The eighteenth International Conference on Laser Spectroscopy was held on 24-29 June 2007 in Telluride, Colorado. In keeping with its rich tradition, ICOLS-07 was truly an international gathering with 173 delegates and 34 accompanying guests from 21 countries (Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and the United States).This volume presents the invited talks comprising the technical program of the Conference, arranged in the general topic areas of degenerate quantum gases, quantum information and control, precision measurements, fundamental physics and applications, ultra-fast control and spectroscopy, novel spectroscopic applications, spectroscopy on the small scale, cold atoms and molecules, single atoms and quantum optics, and optical atomic clocks. The vibrant exchange of ideas provided the real strength and foundation of the Conference, especially in areas of the ever-expanding field of laser spectroscopy.