At the end of August 2008, whispers of economic downturn were lingering in the air. Faulty loans, home foreclosures and job losses precipitated rumors of a recession. In October, murmurs quickly become reality with the largest economic collapse since the Great Depression.

The following photographs track a nation in economic slide – from the unhinging of its financial institutions to the ripples felt from Wall Street to so-called Main Street.

From the streets of the Bay Area infested with the going-out-of-business signs to the crowded food banks and bankrupted national chains, as well as the faces of those shielded from the hardship, "The Great Recession" is an effort to capture America on the financial brink.

PHOTOGRAPHERS: Rhyen Coombs, Carlos Davalos, Ali Reza Eshraghi, Jen Guyton, Howard Hsu, Omid Memarian, Luisa Morenilla, Lauren Rudser, Elizabeth Shemaria, Jacob Simas, Christopher Tompkins

EDITORS/INSTRUCTORS: Ken Light, Mimi Chakarova