Book excerpt: Fundamentals of Earthquake Engineering combines aspects of engineering seismology, structural and geotechnical earthquake engineering to assemble the vital components required for a deep understanding of response of structures to earthquake ground motion, from the seismic source to the evaluation of actions and deformation required for design. The nature of earthquake risk assessment is inherently multi-disciplinary. Whereas Fundamentals of Earthquake Engineering addresses only structural safety assessment and design, the problem is cast in its appropriate context by relating structural damage states to societal consequences and expectations, through the fundamental response quantities of stiffness, strength and ductility. The book is designed to support graduate teaching and learning, introduce practicing structural and geotechnical engineers to earthquake analysis and design problems, as well as being a reference book for further studies. Fundamentals of Earthquake Engineering includes material on the nature of earthquake sources and mechanisms, various methods for the characterization of earthquake input motion, damage observed in reconnaissance missions, modeling of structures for the purposes of response simulation, definition of performance limit states, structural and architectural systems for optimal seismic response, and action and deformation quantities suitable for design. The accompanying website at www.wiley.com/go/elnashai contains a comprehensive set of slides illustrating the chapters and appendices. A set of problems with solutions and worked-through examples is available from the Wley Editorial team. The book, slides and problem set constitute a tried and tested system for a single-semester graduate course. The approach taken avoids tying the book to a specific regional seismic design code of practice and ensures its global appeal to graduate students and practicing engineers.