Book excerpt: This book presents review papers and research articles focusing on the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan, China, discussing cross-disciplinary and multiple thematic aspects of modern seismological, geophysical, geological and stochastic methodology and technology. Resulting from international and regional earthquake research and disaster mitigation collaborations, and written by international authors from multiple institutions and disciplines, it describes methods and techniques in earthquake science based on investigations of the Wenchuan earthquake. It also includes extensive reference lists to aid further research. The book helps both senior researchers and graduate students in earthquake science to broaden their horizons in data analysis, numerical modeling and structural retrieval for the tectonic, geological, geophysical and mechanical interpretation of the 2008 M8 Wenchuan earthquake to support a global and regional cooperation for preparedness, and the mitigation and management of seismic risk.