Near-field optics studies the behaviour of light fields in the vicinity of matter, where light is structured in propagating and evanescent fields. Near-field optical microscopy is the straightforward application of near-field optics. This textbook provides an overview for undergraduates and anyone who has an interest in peculiar optical phenomena, and serves as a technical manual for engineers and researchers. It consists of 12 chapters dealing with the history of near-field optics, non-radiating optics, optical noise, inverse problems, theory, instrumentation and applications; there is an appendix including the basic elements of Fourier optics and Maxwell equations.