The revenge of the whale. Truth, not science fiction. This diary is full of real life horror, made all the more terrible by the matter-of-fact style of its telling. Descriptions of the whale's attacks are breathtakingly vivid as are the descriptions of the doomed crew's reluctant cannibalism. Chase describes the greenish drying strips of human flesh as they hang upon the ship ready for consumption and he describes the macabre drawing of lots as it falls upon Owen Coffin (the captain's nephew) to be shot and eaten. Chase steers clear of sentimentality and melodrama. He tells it as it is. No one can fail to be moved by what he went through or impressed by his strength, regardless of our love for and protection of the whale as a majestic, mysterious and beautiful mammal. His story inspired the novel and film 'In The Heart of The Sea'. It also inspired Melville to write 'Moby Dick':