Sen. Jim Webb's short-list of best books

The Week magazine, which modestly describes its contents as "all you need to know about everything that matters," gave Virginia Sen. Jim Webb a bit of space on its Arts page this week for its "best books" feature.

Here are the books on the senator's list, and excerpts from his comments.

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway. "Hemingway reinvented the narrative style of the novel," Webb writes. "He also claimed...that he learned to write by studying the paintings of Cezanne. To a literary eye, this masterfully written, wonderfully evocative story is evidence of both."

The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman. "This examination of the opening days of (World War I) from diplomacy to military tactics is multi-layered history at its finest."

Hawaii by James Michener. "Other than the first 100 pages of lava formations, bugs, and wayward birds, this is a moving, timeless, and fascinating cultural history...."

The True Believer by Eric Hoffer. A "pithy examination of the makeup of mass movements."

Once an Eagle by Anton Myrer. "Quite simply the best book ever written about the American military in war and peace, from the years before World War I to the beginning of Vietnam."

Main Currents in American Thought by Vernon Louis Parrington. "Essays that brilliantly interweave the major philosophical trends and personalities responsible for the shaping of our nation."

You were expecting, maybe, Harry Potter?