A topic that is comming of age. It is difficult to find much written material on the subject. If you have been looking for this type material, you have found a mother load! I am working in the telecommunication arena and am always trying to find material that discusses trends that are in their infancy. Mr. Bates has gathered a lot of information and has presented it in an interesting, readable manner. I have read a lot of technical material that has babbled on and on but not told you anything of interest. This book is succinct and easily readable. If you are a person working in the communications networking field or just interested in it, this book is a MUST read. Optical Switching is a major development in technology that you need to be familiar with to see where the industry is headed. I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in this area.