As the debates about the recent global recession and the subsequent recovery have clearly shown, our understanding of these questions has been very limited. In this book, we undertake a systematic analysis of global recessions and recoveries to address these questions. Specifically, we define the terms of global recessions and recoveries; document their main features; describe the events that take place around these episodes; put the latest global recession and ongoing recovery in perspective; and analyze the interactions between fluctuations in the global growth and national growth over the different phases of the global cycle.