Terry Brooks, best known as the author of the Shannara series, was born in Illinois in 1944. He graduated from Hamilton College and the School of Law at Washington & Lee. Brooks was a practicing attorney for many years before turning to writing fulltime. His first book Sword of Shannara (1977) was the first work of fiction to appear on the New York Times Trade Paperback Bestseller List. It was followed by 14 consecutive bestsellers. Brooks' many Shannara novels create a tapestry that spans generations and rivals Tolkien's Middle Earth in epic scale and heroism. Brooks is the author of a number of other fantasy books, as well as the novelization of Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace.