This research monograph presents a systematic treatment of the theory of the propagation of transient electromagnetic fields (such as optical pulses) through dielectric media which exhibit both dispersion a.nd absorption. The work divides naturally into two parts. Part I presents a summary of the fundamental theory of the radiation and propagation of rather general electromagnetic waves in causal, linear media which are homogeneous and isotropic but which otherwise have rather general dispersive and absorbing properties. In Part II, we specialize to the propagation of a plane, transient...