Book excerpt: INTRODUCTION Electricity is the lifeblood of modern society, powering everything from homes and businesses to critical infrastructure. A complete electrical grid failure occurs when a widespread disruption interrupts the normal functioning of the power distribution system, leaving communities without access to electricity. Why Understanding Grid Down USA is important As an 80-year-old grandfather with a medical problem, a grid-down situation eliminates the possibility of me or you getting emergency medical attention. But it is worse than that as a grid-down occurrence takes us back to the ages of no electricity or the horse and buggy days. In this book, the Grid-Down lasts as much as a year. As you will learn that is a catastrophic event causing millions of lives here in the US to be lost. It is not the intent of this book to go into a major detailing of how the power grid works, but to its vulnerabilities. And eventually to its consequences.