In March 1965, Alabama police attacked a group of peaceful protestors as they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. John Lewis was among those participating in the Martin Luther King-led march protesting the state's racist unfair voting laws. Lewis was beaten and left bruised and bloodied that day.

Lewis's 2017 book Across That Bridge tells the story of that march; but it tells much more.

Lewis, who passed away last year at the age of 80, served over three decades as a US Congressman and spent and spent much of that time fighting for the rights of underrepresented and marginalized people. His place in the American Civil Rights movement is well-known and he provides insights from his experiences and from lives of Mahatma Ghandi, Bobby Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, and others.

Lewis relates key moments in the history of Civil Rights and places them in perspective. From these events, he draws his lessons about the effectiveness of nonviolent protests and a blueprint for this country going forward.

This book is part history; part autobiography; and part inspirational message. He divides it into short on the topics of faith, patience, study, act, peace, love, and reconciliation.

Here sampling of what Lewis has to say here:

"Freedom is not a state; it is an act."

"Nothing can stop the power of a committed and determined people to make a difference in our society. Why? Because human beings are the most dynamic link to the divine on this planet."

"Every generation leaves behind a legacy. What that legacy will be is determined by the people of that generation. What legacy do you want to leave behind?"

While not a comprehensive study, they complement one another well enough to make reading it worthwhile.