Book excerpt: This book covers the basic concepts and methods involved in polarization of light, and features important methods of analysis such as Jones matrices, Stokes parameters, and Poincaré sphere. It provides the background needed to understand the workings of, and to design, various photonic devices, including Faraday rotators, inline fiber optic components such as polarizers, wave plates, and polarization controllers, and polarimetric sensors such as fiber optic current sensors. Birefringence and the phenomenon of polarization mode dispersion (PMD) in single-mode fibers are also covered. The discussion of concepts is succinct, and the presentation of methods includes concrete examples, making the book an ideal text for students and a useful resource for engineers.