This bestselling text provides students with a clear understanding of the nature of soil and its behaviour, and offers an insight into the application of principles to engineering solutions. With its comprehensive coverage and accessible writing style, this book is ideal for core university courses in geotechnical and civil engineering, as well as being a handy guide for practitioners. This fourth edition of Soil Mechanics includes: * Intriguing case studies from around the world, demonstrating real-life situations and solutions * Over 100 worked examples, giving an insight into how engineers tackle specific problems * A companion website providing further commentary on the Geotechnical Eurocodes * An integrated series of video interviews with practising engineers * An extensive online testbank of questions for lecturers to use alongside the book * Suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter to help with research * A range of new topics and deeper coverage of existing concepts. 1. Soil Formation and Nature 2. Soil Description and Classification 3. Permeability and Seepage 4. Effective Stress and Pore Pressure 5. Contact Pressure and Stress Distribution 6. Compressibility and Consolidation 7. Shear Strength 8. Shallow Foundations - Stability 9. Shallow Foundations - Settlements 10. Pile Foundations 11. Lateral Earth Pressures and Retaining Structures 12. Slope Stability 13. Earthworks and Soil Compaction 14. Site Investigation.