This smooth introduction for advanced undergraduates starts with the fundamentals of lasers and pulsed optics. Thus prepared, the student is introduced to short and ultrashort laser pulses, and learns how to generate, manipulate, and measure them. Spectrscopic implications are also discussed. The second edition has been completely revised and includes two new chapters on some of the most promising and fast-developing applications in ultrafast phenomena: coherent control and attosecond pulses.