THE FIRST YEAR EVERYTHING CHANGED

June 1947. A patrol boat glides across Puget Sound—then molten slag rains from the sky, killing a dog, injuring a teenager, and marking the true beginning of the modern UFO age.

Three days later, pilot Kenneth Arnold spots nine disc-shaped craft streaking past Mount Rainier at 1,200 mph. The term "flying saucer" is born.

A week after that, a rancher finds debris scattered across the New Mexico desert. The Army announces it has captured a “flying disc.” Hours later, the story is reversed.

Before the month is over, two military intelligence officers investigating the case die in a mysterious plane crash. Witnesses are threatened. Evidence vanishes. And the skies explode with over 800 unexplained sightings coast to coast.

BEFORE ROSWELL, BEFORE AREA 51—THERE WAS 1947

1947: The Untold Story of the Birth of the UFO Age rips open long-buried files, forgotten press clippings, and eyewitness testimonies to reveal the thirty-day period that changed human history forever. With deeply researched accounts and cinematic storytelling, author Gary Covella delivers a shockingly real reconstruction of the moment UFOs—and those who tried to suppress them—entered the American consciousness.

• Maury Island Incident – molten debris, dead dog, and a fatal bomber crash
• Kenneth Arnold – the man who accidentally coined “flying saucer”
• Roswell and Corona – what really fell in the desert, and why the story was pulled
• Airline Pilot Sightings – multiple confirmations from cockpit logbooks
• Project Sign Origins – the birth of government secrecy around UAPs
• Men in Black – veiled threats, silent visits, and stories forcibly recanted
• Soviet, British, and Argentine Reactions – how the entire world responded
• Pop Culture Fallout – how pulp magazines, movies, and fear molded belief

“UNIDENTIFIED” WAS JUST THE BEGINNING

Based on hundreds of sources and incorporating newly declassified records, this book dives into the chaos, cover-ups, and cosmic consequences of that unforgettable summer. Covella reconstructs a chronological, global map of sightings, denials, and deliberate obfuscations that reveal the blueprint of modern UFO secrecy.

• What if the real crash wasn’t Roswell—but Corona?
• Why were two officers transporting UFO debris killed mid-air?
• How did a commercial airliner’s July 4 logbook confirm flying discs?

READS LIKE A THRILLER—BECAUSE IT IS ONE

This isn’t science fiction. It’s investigative nonfiction pulled from Air Force memos, FBI reports, CIA cables, and the front pages of 1947 newspapers the Pentagon would prefer you forget.

1947 is more than a history lesson. It’s a warning: Everything we think we know about UFOs began in these thirty electric, terrifying days.

Once you know the truth... you can’t unsee the sky.