Oh boy! I'm excited about this one. Cloak of Deception, by James Luceno really digs into the meat of the story before The Phantom Menace. This book is the first must read. While I do recommend other books, the story of the prequels is incomplete - we don't see enough of the machinations of Palpatine and the Sith, and this book supplies much need context and an excellent foundation future exploration of the Fall of the Republic and the Rise of Empire.