Parachute Women: Marianne Faithfull, Marsha Hunt, Bianca Jagger, Anita Pallenberg, and the Women Behind the Rolling Stones

Winder (Marilyn in Manhattan) offers a look into the tumultuous rise of the Rolling Stones from the perspective of the women who compelled them to become the rock icons they are today. Anita Pallenberg, Marianne Faithfull, Marsha Hunt, and Bianca Jagger opened the doors for the Stones to explore what the author calls “subterranean art and alternative lifestyles.” In helping to create the aggressively masculine world of rock, however, these women found themselves demonized and written out of its history. Winder reclaims their narratives by exploring the careers and lives these influential women had outside of the Stones. She pairs extensive research with passages of conversational and creative nonfiction that make the book read like a novel. The author doesn’t shy away from showing the harsh realities of life in the limelight as tabloids slander these women. Readers will likely come away from this book with a newfound appreciation for these women and their unsung contributions to creating the cultural phenomenon that is the Rolling Stones.