Parachute Women

Apple, “Must Listen” (July 2023)

Town & Country, “Best Books to Read This Summer” (July 2023)

“Delicious… as a reader you’re swayed between boggling at the outlaw glamour and eye-rolling at the drama and double standards. The women certainly emerge as more original and dynamic personalities than Mick’n’Keef.”–Spectator (UK)
“Pacily written, Parachute Women is a gripping, thought-provoking read with a surprisingly broad appeal. Even the Stones-averse will find a lot to love here.”–Classic Rock
“Perhaps more fascinating than the Stones themselves are the women who helped create them… Pack this in your beach bag and you’re nearly guaranteed–sorry!–satisfaction.”–Town & Country
“Winder spotlights how the vast influence of these women on the Stones has largely been hidden in the shadow of the band’s monolithic mythos… Parachute Women is a step toward according these women their rightful place in music culture…”–Washington Post
”…[D]elicious, gossipy, glamorous, but also [an] emotional and thoughtful read… –AirMail
“Winder expertly weaves the stories of these four women who floated in and out of the Stones’ orbit, and often simultaneously or overlapping. Far more than just ‘rock chicks, ’ they helped mold the men and their music–even if it came at their own expense.”–Houston Press
“A multi-faceted … refreshing portrait of four women who dared to be themselves in the hypermasculine world of rock.”–Booklist
“This feminist look at the history of the women of the Rolling Stones would make an excellent addition to collections looking to round out its offerings on rock and women’s history.”–Library Journal
“I’ve been waiting for someone to write this book since I read Marianne Faithfull’s memoir on a cross-country flight thirty years ago. The story of how women dismissed as consorts, groupies, and open secrets created the aesthetic that brought the Rolling Stones to glory–and significantly contributed to their music, too–has been buried too long. Winder embraces its dishiness while going deeper, showing how these brilliant, strong women shaped cultural history even as the men around them tried to contain and even destroy them.”–Ann Powers, author of Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black and White, Body and Soul in American Music
“A vivid portrait of the women behind ‘the world’s first rock stars’… Gossipy, entertaining, and quite right in insisting on the central role of women in making an iconic band iconic.”–Kirkus
“A fascinating portrait …. backed up by keenly described historical background and an expert understanding of 1960s and ‘70s rock culture. The result is a wild ride worthy of rock’s heyday.”–Publishers Weekly