Case file · Non-fiction & research literature
Arnold & Palmer, 'The Coming of the Saucers'
Kenneth Arnold's own account of his 1947 Mount Rainier sighting and investigations, co-written with pulp editor Ray Palmer.
1952 CE · 46.85, -121.76 · status: account
The account
Arnold's report of nine objects near Mount Rainier gave the world the 'flying saucer'. The book also covers the Maury Island affair, and Palmer's sensationalism helped turn the sightings into a publishing phenomenon.
The sceptical view
Arnold's sighting has been attributed to mirages, birds or meteors; Maury Island was a hoax, and Palmer had a record of promoting fiction as fact through the Shaver Mystery.
Connections in the atlas
- Kenneth Arnold
- The Coming of the Saucers
- Kenneth Arnold sighting