AbstractString duality suggests a fascinating juxtoposition of world‐volume and target‐space dynamics. This is particularly apparent in theD‐brane description of stringy solitons that forms a major focus of this article (which isnotintended to be a comprehensive review of this extensive and sophisticated subject). The article is divided into four sections:• The oligarchy of string world‐sheets•p‐branes and world‐volumes• World‐sheets for world‐volumes• Boundary states,D‐branes an