Now that holography has matured (wIth Dennis Gabor having received the Nobel Prize In 1971) and that coherent optics has proved to be even more powerful than originally imagined, in open­ ing the new field of "optical computing," it is particularlyappropri­ ate to make available to English-speaking readers the translation of a uniquely outstanding text which presents the general and per­ manent foundations of the field. L. M. Soroko's book has proved its usefulness, since It ap­ peared in Russian In 1971, following the basic pattern set in the world's first monograph In the field, "An Introduction to Coherent Optics and Holography," written by G. w. Stroke in 1966, and since also available in Its second US edition (1969) from Academic Press, following the publication of its Russian edition by Mlr In 1967. To further enhance the usefulness of L. M. Soroko's book, and to assure that Its fundamental nature be completely updated, the Translation Editor, In agreement with the author, felt that this could best be assured by including an "updating appendix" In the form of three recent papers In the general field of "opto-dlgltal holographic Image processing and 3-D reconstructions," especially -also since their bibliographies Include numerous further refer­ ences to a great many authors and workers throughout the world.