Was the Meltdown of 2008 the first phase of the Great Depression of the 21st Century? In 2013, this global economic crisis is not over and no one knows the hour or the day when the Final Reckoning will occur The 2008 Meltdown that culminated in the serial collapse of some of the most powerful corporations in the world, represented only the tip of the iceberg in the emergence of this epic economic bust cycle. What we are now witnessing is the greatest bubble and credit expansion in modern economic history, and when this entire system finally implodes, it will bring into existence some harsh economic and financial realities. The Meltdown of 2008 (and its aftershocks) was the initial bursting of this bubble and the first phase of the Great Depression of the 21st century. As this bust cycle continues to unfold in the wake of the 2008 collapse, the sovereign debt crisis that has a strangle hold on most of the developed world, has evolved into the epicenter of a massive credit and money supply expansion bubble that threatens to derail the entire global economic system. The sovereign debt crisis in Europe is a constant reminder of why this bust cycle may linger on for many years without resolution and a robust recovery. The narrative journey taken in this book helps the reader to better understand the following key issues: Greece and Spain are microcosms of a much larger looming global catastrophe, and the world can learn valuable lessons by observing the failed austerity policies that are not working in their ongoing depression years. This book also takes a very close look at Japan and its long deflationary bust cycle that spans the period of over two decades. After its extraordinary boom period. Japan has been in a titanic battle to break the grip of a deep deflationary era. There are valuable lessons to be learned in Japan's economic drama. The analysis presented provides an introduction to Om-Ra-Seti's "Grand Convergence Theory," the confluence of a diversity of economic forces destined to bring about a manifestation of creative destruction and global economic revision. In historical and narrative form, the reader is presented with a review analysis, power and continuing nature of boom and bust cycles. The book supports the premise that our civilization has arrived at the end of the "Age of Oil," and that governments, corporations and institutions should be actively engaged in a transition process and period of withdrawal from this depleting and environmentally destructive resource. This publication offers unique insights and perspectives on the inevitable recovery phase that will begin after the period of global economic purgatory. The year 2012 was the pivotal turning point in this unfolding drama Governments and their central bankers are conducting a titanic battle to prevent contagion and collapse into deflation and global depression. We have reached a major turning point in this bust cycle where an accurate assessment and appropriate reforms are critical; inappropriate policies and short-term remedies will only produce greater failure. And there must be a total recognition by global leaders and lawmakers that unrestrained and unbridled free enterprise systems will not work in this current economic bust cycle. The longer our leaders delay in implementing the full measure of economic and depression-era reforms, the more difficult it becomes to stop what is now inevitable: Global Economic Turmoil and Collapse At some point in this bust cycle, additional stimulus programs, massive money printing, bailouts and corporate welfare will not reverse what we will witness in the second decade of the 21st century. This book brings to light the need for strategic plans for the future in a world that has entered a great technological transition phase."