Book excerpt: In the past fifteen years experimental and theoretical characterisation of the pre-failure deformation properties of geomaterials has developed enormously. In recognition of these important research developments a Geotechnique Symposium in Print (SIP) was held at the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1997. This volume brings together the nineteen Geotechnique SIP papers which summarise the recent developments in measuring and understanding the pre-failure stress-strain-time properties of natural soils, and apply this information to practical engineering problems.