Mm, not really. Sure it can be argued that trading stocks is "gambling," but I think it's closer to "gaming." The former usually doesn't involve any particular knowledge or judgment; the latter does. But I'm not here to defend stock trading on a moral basis...

In terms of educational background material, I did a thorough explication of peak oil theory, then moved on to examine some peaking cases for all other forms of traditional energy, then went into a detailed discussion of various renewable energy technologies. As for the title & focus, that's the way the book was pitched by my employer/co-author, before I was handed the task of writing it. It could have just as easily been focused as a textbook, though.

I can't account for the fairly short comment thread on this--my guess is that it's because I'm relatively new on the scene as an author, unlike, say, Orlov or Kunstler--but I wouldn't use that to judge the book, any more than I would its cover. I took care to explain some options and technologies going forward, and tried to put them in context. Whether I succeeded in that or not, you will have to judge for yourself.