Book excerpt: This book introduces the fundamental mechanism of photonic glasses - the linear and nonliner optical effects in glass under intense light irradiation: photo-induced absorption, refraction, polarization, frequency, coherence and monochromaticity changes. Emphasis is placed on new developments in the structure, spectroscopy and physics of new glassy materials for photonics applications, such as optical communication, optical data storage, new lasers and new photonic components and devices. The book presents the research results of the authors in new glasses for photonics over the last decade.