This monograph synthesizes existing literary data alongside the authors' own experimental and theoretical findings in the realm of elastic-plastic, strength, and kinetic properties of various classes of materials under shock-wave loading. It provides essential information from the mechanics of continuous media and discusses contemporary experimental techniques. The results of experimental studies and computational models of viscoelastic-plastic deformation and failure of diverse materials—including metals and alloys, brittle ceramics and rocks, single crystals and glasses, as well as polymers and elastomers—are summarized in the context of shock waves. Several significant examples of polymorphic transformations of substances under shock waves are presented. The mechanical effects of the interaction between laser and particle radiation impulses with matter are analyzed. An overview of equations of state and the kinetics of explosive decomposition in shock and detonation waves is included. The selection and presentation of material are geared towards predictive calculations of the effects of explosions, high-speed impacts, and impulse laser and particle beams. The monograph also contains reference information. It is intended for scientists, engineering professionals, and students engaged in research and the development of new technologies utilizing intense impulse effects.