On June 14, 1947, rancher Mac Brazel noticed a variety of debris scattered around a desert pasture 80 miles northwest of Roswell, New Mexico. He didn't investigate further until a few weeks later, when newspapers reported UFO sightings in the area and he wondered if the debris might be related. He recovered an unusual piece of metallic material from the pasture--which showed no mark when he tried to cut or burn it--and delivered it to the Roswell Army Air Field, about 75 miles away. Army personnel immediately swarmed to the debris field, scooping up everything and taking it to the airfield. On July 8, the Roswell air base issued a news release to the effect ''We have in our possession a flying disk,'' prompting the ''Roswell Daily Record'' to run an article under the headline ''R.A.A.F. Captures Flying Saucer.'' On July 9, the Army recanted its statement and called the debris merely a downed weather balloon.The matter was largely forgotten until the late 1970s, when UFO enthusiasts...