This book provides the first documented description of the genesis and institutionalization of America's nuclear surveillance system. It traces the development of covert technical methods for assessing the nuclear capability of foreign powers from the introduction of these techniques in World War II to 1949, when they were successfully employed to detect the test of Russia's first atomic bomb. Ziegler and Jacobson examine the planning for the system as well as the technical and organizational obstacles that had to be overcome before it could be implemented. They describe the government decision-making processes and the ways individuals and groups with different beliefs and interests were mobilized in support of the program. They also explore the relationships between the intelligence and scientific communities that were forged in this process.

UFO CRASH AT ROSWELL is not simply a recounting of the events of 1947. Rather, it is a detailed, serious examinaton of what we, as humans, believe about our relationship to the universe and to each other. It searches for answers about why so many believe in the crash of a flying saucer at Roswell, how these beliefs came to be, and their meaning.