Chapter 9 Krakauer devotes to another man named Reuss—why does he do this?

In Chapter Nine, Krakauer makes it clear that though McCandless shares some characteristics and behaviors with the men he mentions, the only one who is truly like him is Everett Ruess. Carl McCunn was more naïve, John Waterman was actually mentally insane, but Everett Ruess was, like McCandless, simply deeply in love with the land, very romantic, and passionate about living by his principles. These comparisons show that removing oneself from society and living riskily can be a symptom of insanity or stupidity, but it is not inherently so. Krakauer uses Ruess' story, so like McCandless', to make a point about what he saw as Chris' intentions.