The Last Shot is a compilation of ten essays that deal with subjects and unsolved mysteries surrounding the Civil War. The most controversial is the notion of whether the North intentionally caused the conflict as the only way to abolish slavery. Did they misjudge the Southern response due to years of the South making threats and not carrying them out? Several essays look at John Wilkes Booth, the people who influenced him, and those who aided in his escape after he shot President Abraham Lincoln. Did Booth's escape route differ from the accepted tale? And did Booth commit suicide at Garrett's Farm? Finally, the book examines the Republican Party's successful drive in Congress for political supremacy over the Executive Branch and the Supreme Court, before, during, and after the war.