The job offer then the un-offer

Gone are the days when a handshake was a contract. Gone are the days when someone's word was a commitment. Here are the days when phrases such as "it's business, not personal"

I'm rather frustrated with a manager at my company who offered me a management position and then rescinded the offer a week later. It was a good position that came with educational reimbursement, a nice bonus, and a substantial raise. I was even willing to move up to Santa Barbara for the position.

So here's how the story goes:
a) manager recruits me for the position
b) i say i'm interested and send resume
c) manager sets up official interview
d) i go to santa barbara and have an interview with a couple managers and HR
e) at end of interview, hiring manager says "the ball's in my court" and the job is mine if i want it
f) i say i cannot give him a commitment on the spot because i need to work out some HR issues
g) next day HR works out issues and i tell the manager to officially give me an offer and to let me know when he'd like me to start
h) he emails me that the start date would be ASAP
i) i say ok, lets get the ball rolling
j) manager then does not return emails or voicemails
k) my name appears on org charts to move and they plan on moving my office to santa barbara
l) i get an email from the manager a week later saying the job is no longer available

Apparently the position I was supposed to fill was vacated because the prior person was on a long term assignment, but decided to return right when they unofficially hired me. So all my questions and concerns about whether or not I was willing to move to santa barbara in exchange for career advancement were for not.

In the end, I'm asked, "Did you ever get an official job offer?"...well, no. Guess someone's word and handshake is no longer the same as a commitment or a contract.