Ben-Hur

Lewis Wallace was born in 1827, in Brookville, Indiana, the son of David (the future governor of Indiana) and Esther Test Wallace (the daughter of Indiana’s first U.S. congressman). He left school at the age of sixteen, and worked as an assistant in his father’s law firm until the outbreak of the Mexican War. Wallace joined the fighting as a second lieutenant in the First Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, but did not see much action. During this time, he worked on his first novel. After the war, Wallace returned to the law and was admitted to the Indiana Bar. He was eventually elected to the state senate, where he served until the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, when he resumed soldiering. He became the youngest man to hold the rank of major general. Continuing in service to his country, Wallace served on the military commission responsible for trying and sentencing those involved in the assassination of President Lincoln, and aided Benito Juarez in trying to establish a constitutional government in Mexico. In 1878, Wallace became the territorial governor of New Mexico, and during his 3-year tenure wrote Ben-Hur (1880). The rest of Wallace’s life saw the publication of lesser literary efforts, and the appointment as minister of Turkey. He died in Crawfordsville, Indiana, in 1905.
Tim LaHaye is a noted author, minister, and nationally recognized speaker on Bible prophecy. He is the founder and president of Tim LaHaye Ministries, and the cofounder of the Pre-Trib Research Center, established for the purpose of exposing ministers to Bible prophecy. He holds a doctor of ministry from Western Theological Seminary and a doctor of literature from Liberty University. A pastor for thirty-nine years, LaHaye has written more than fifty nonfiction books and co-authored the Left Behind, the most successful Christian fiction venture in publishing history, with Jerry Jenkins.