Material properties of oil shale, principally Hugoniots, dynamic spall strength, wave profiles, and elastic constants, are discussed as functions of shale grade and bedding orientation. Nonideal explosive behavior of ANFO and other explosives was investigated both experimentally and theoretically, and the results are given. Finally, these oil shale and explosive properties were integrated into a sophisticated hydrodynamic computer code, representing the first step toward development of a predictive capability for explosive fracture. 81 figures.