Bader was certainly one of the greats - a personal hero. Reach For the Sky (what a superb title!) was one of the books that I read as a young lad and which gave me the yearning to fly that still impels me. It isn't a warts and all account by any means, but that isn't in itself a bad thing. I don't hold the view that it is particularly sycophantic, maybe just rather inclined to a level of hero worship, much in the same way that Brickhill treated Guy Gibson.
Bader comes in for a lot of flak these days for his difficult nature and perceived mistakes. Certainly had Bader been less of the man that he was, he probably would not have survived the crash at Woodley or had the grit to fight his way back into the service.
There is a story that Kenneth Moore, who was invited to speak after dinner at a lot of RAF stations in the wake of Reach For The Sky, told one Staish that he would tell a few stories about Bader and was surprised to get the reaction: "Christ! Don't mention that b*******'s name in this mess. There are several here who were in the bag with him and they were always losing their privileges because of Bader winding the goons up".
Maybe Bader wasn't perfect, but none of us are. However if it had not been for men such as him, we would probably not have the liberty to express our opinions today with such freedom.