Bill Burns
William J. "Bill" Burns (also published as William Birnes) was the co-author of The Day After Roswell (1997) with retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Philip J. Corso. Burns has been accused by Corso's own family and researchers familiar with Corso's original manuscript of inserting creative liberties, sensational embellishments, and fabricated details not present in Corso's source material.
| Role | Co-author; writer |
|---|
The Day After Roswell Controversy
According to Philip Corso Jr., Corso's son, the published version of The Day After Roswell contained so many inaccuracies and additions that Corso Sr. went through the book highlighting everything he did not say or did not like, giving up halfway through due to frustration. Corso Sr. was furious with the final product during his lifetime. Corso Jr. stated he originally had no plans to release his father's manuscript Dawn of a New Age but did so specifically to correct the mistakes in the bestselling book that had angered his father.
Multiple individuals privy to Corso's original manuscript before his death, including Colonel John B. Alexander, remarked on sensational details featured in The Day After Roswell that were completely absent from the manuscript. Examples include:
- A scene where Corso allegedly intimidated the CIA director of covert operations into self-deletion
- The opening chapter "The Roswell Desert" describing the Roswell crash in painstaking detail despite Corso not being present at the event
- A forward by Senator Strom Thurmond that was quickly retracted when Thurmond learned the book was about UAP rather than Corso's general military career
- Claims about Roscoe Hillenkoetter and Majestic 12 personnel that appear embellished
The Day After Roswell is 130 pages longer than Dawn of a New Age despite covering roughly the same core concepts, suggesting substantial padding and expansion by Burns beyond Corso's original testimony.
Alleged Creative Liberties
Researchers analyzing both texts have identified that Burns appears to have had only 24 hours to allow Corso editorial oversight of the final manuscript, effectively stripping the subject of the non-fiction book of creative control. This rushed timeline may explain why Corso was unable to remove or correct Burns' additions and embellishments before publication.
The distinction between Corso's original manuscript and Burns' co-written version is considered critical by researchers attempting to assess the credibility of Corso's claims, as the manuscript represents Corso's unfiltered account while the published book contains unknown quantities of dramatization and speculation inserted by Burns.