Book excerpt: Seismic Strong Motion Synthetics describes the methods of modeling the production of strong seismic ground motions by realistic seismic sources. Organized into six chapters, this book highlights the different ways of numerical treatment and the available computationally rapid and conceptually simple algorithms. The introductory chapter describes the intense bursts of radiation emitted during sudden changes in the rupture-front velocity occurring when the zone of slip reaches regions of differing stress drop. This topic is followed by an overview of the observations of seismic waves close to the fault and a discussion on the application of kinematic dislocation models to the synthesis of strong ground motion, such as the representation theorem and methods of theoretical and semi-empirical synthesis. A chapter deals with dynamic shear cracks with an emphasis on numerical modeling of complete three-dimensional, spontaneous rupture processes not only in an infinite, homogeneous medium but also in a homogeneous half-space or horizontally layered medium. This book also describes a tool capable of synthesizing strong motion records from a basic understanding of fault mechanics and seismic-wave propagation in the earth. The text further examines the calculation of ground motions at locations near to large earthquakes. The concluding chapter explores the methods of computing the motions that result from elastic waves propagating through complex structures. This book is an advanced text on numerical modeling for use in graduate and upper-division courses in physics, geophysics, and earthquake engineering.