Book excerpt: Odyssey of Light in Nonlinear Optical Fibers: Theory and Applications presents a collection of breakthrough research portraying the odyssey of light from optical solitons to optical rogue waves in nonlinear optical fibers. The book provides a simple yet holistic view on the theoretical and application-oriented aspects of light, with a special focus on the underlying nonlinear phenomena. Exploring the very frontiers of light-wave technology, the text covers the basics of nonlinear fiberoptics and the dynamics of electromagnetic pulse propagation in nonlinear waveguides. It also highlights some of the latest advances in nonlinear optical fiber technology, discussing hidden symmetry reductions and Ablowitz–Kaup–Newell–Segur (AKNS) hierarchies for nonautonomous solitons, state-of-the-art Brillouin scattering applications, backpropagation, and the concept of eigenvalue communication—a powerful nonlinear digital signal processing technique that paves the way to overcome the current limitations of traditional communications methods in nonlinear fiber channels. Key chapters study the feasibility of the eigenvalue demodulation scheme based on digital coherent technology by throwing light on the experimental study of the noise tolerance of the demodulated eigenvalues, investigate matter wave solitons and other localized excitations pertaining to Bose–Einstein condensates in atom optics, and examine quantum field theory analogue effects occurring in binary waveguide arrays, plasmonic arrays, etc., as well as their ensuing nonlinear wave propagation. Featuring a foreword by Dr. Akira Hasegawa, the father of soliton communication systems, Odyssey of Light in Nonlinear Optical Fibers: Theory and Applications serves as a curtain raiser to usher in the photonics era. The technological innovations at the core of the book form the basis for the next generation of ultra-high speed computers and telecommunication devices.