Manhattan, as the world's greatest vertical city, is the result of a collective striving; its skyscrapers are the physical manifestation of this mass quest for success. Despite the fact that the skyscraper is inherently an economic phenomenon, there is almost no work that chronicles its economic history. This book aims to fill this void by documenting not only the 'what' but also the 'why', regarding this important aspect of New York City's history; in the process this book debunks several misconceptions about the city's real estate history.