For anyone with access to Cisco Learning Connection (any CCNA or above I believe), you can access a number of online courses for free following the links off of the Optical Specialist page. This will provide you some good insight into the basics of SONET/SDH and fiber optic communication.
http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/le2/le41/le82/le51/learning_certification_type_home_extra_level.html
I recommend Cisco Press's Optical Network Design and Implementation book. It covers the basics of fiber optics as well as SONET/SDH, DWDM and provisioning on the 15454 as well.
http://www.ciscopress.com/title/1587051052
Also, http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/optical/ps2006/tsd_products_support_series_home.html includes lots of useful information on network setup, timing, design, etc, as well as links to all documentation for all software revisions.
Hope this helps give you some direction,
Josh
