The Sky's The Limit

There is no more fascinating sport than the New York City real estate market. For his deliciously gossipy page-turner about the upper strata of that world, The Sky’s The Limit, Steven Gaines interviews everyone from longtime doormen to soap-operatic agents (with their red-lipstick-stained cigarettes and backstabbing tendencies). He uncovers details of deals from 42 secretive ”Good Buildings” on Manhattan’s Upper East Side that should send the single-pearl-strand-wearing, Chanel-suited denizens (think Charlotte York’s mother-in-law) into spasms of exquisitely repressed rage. So what if his account of the origins of co-op boards is a tad dull? The ample anecdotes — co-op boards reject Madonna the same month Playboy runs nude pics, bust Mariah Carey for her bare midriff, and ding another woman for carrying a designer-knockoff purse — offer a peek into the city’s best dirty laundry rooms.