Kelly is an experienced defense journalist, so he has a keen ear for the stories that resonate, and how to convey them to readers who may lack a lot of context. From a Dark Sky focuses on the history of Air Force Special Operations from World War 2 to Desert Storm. One of the dreams of military flight was to leapfrog over defensive lines, landing armies in vulnerable rear areas and parachuting . Of course, the devil is in actually doing this stuff, which involves low-level navigation at night through contested air space.

The first section is a solid history of the air commandos role in the Burma campaign, and supporting OSS and SOE agents in Occupied Europe during World War 2. The special forces capabilities were mostly lost in the post-war draw down, and had to be reinvented for Korea, and then reinvented a third time for Vietnam. Vietnam was where aerial special forces came into their own, with helicopters a marked improvement over gliders for inserting and evaccing special forces operators, and night navigation equipment reaching a tipping point of usability, and the deadly side-firing gunships becoming standard platforms for air support. The Son Tay raid demonstrated that tactical perfection could be spoiled by faulty intelligence, while the fiascos of the USS Mayageuz and Operation Eagle Claw demonstrated how quickly the delicate intermeshing of skills required for aerial special operations could decay.

The 1980s and 1990s saw a final renaissance for the Air Commandos, incorporated into their own command, and adequately funded for once, with specialized aircraft, helicopters, and veteran crews.

For what's it worth, pararescuemen are almost entirely absent, aside from the cover photo. And this is a popular history, not a complete account.