>>12515587Introduction to Optics by Pedrotti is better than Hecht, still not great. Born and Wolf is good, but it can be a bit hardcore for a first introduction.
Pretty much anything is better than Hecht though. I don't like Hecht as the standard introduction to optics, it's written in some rambling train of thought style. It can be entertaining to read, but it's also makes it way too long and overly verbose for what it covers.
