Hero or Fool
Although many perceived the expedition as a foolhardy publicity stunt, for Wilkins it was yet another opportunity to be first – the first to submerge a submarine under the Arctic ice and to map what remained unknown about northern geography. Many letters were written to Wilkins, some encouraging and other discouraging him from undertaking the expedition. Critics called the expedition, “the suicide club,” yet at the same time, deals were made with the Hearst empire for exclusive news rights to the expedition.
