The phenomonem you're referring to Phil is the narow speed range at high altitude between aerodynamic stall speed and critical mach number.
As altitude increases, given a constant True Airspeed (TAS), Indicated Airspeed (IAS) reduces.
One interesting effect of this is that you can cruise at high altitude with a TAS in excess of VNE without damaging your aircraft, since VNE is given as IAS.
As we all know, the critical angle of attack of a wing flying straight and level can be translated into a fixed stall speed givan as an IAS.
Now, when you get silly high, like commercials and Learjets, the IAS at maximum cruise speed (TAS) starts to get quite close to the stall speed.
Eventually you reach a height at which the smallest reduction of speed stalls the wing.
Now there is another figure which is important and that is the critical mach number of the wing. Try to fly the wing beyond this speed and the air flowing over it starts to go supersonic in some areas and cause massive drag. Since the speed of sound reduces as air gets thinner (as we go higher) the equivalent mach number for the max cruise speed gets closer to the critical mach number.
So, at high altitudes, you have a small speed range to play with. Go a bit slower and you get aerodynamic stall, go a bit faster and you exceed the CMN and stall again !