Hearst to Hughes

About the Book

Dr. Lunde takes us behind the scenes in some of the most celebrated and controversial criminal and civil trials of the past fifty years.

As one of the pioneers in the field now known as forensic psychiatry, he interviewed people like Patty Hearst and the Hillside Strangler and consulted with judges and attorneys in hundreds of cases in his illustrious career.

After reviewing extensive evidence and interviewing witnesses, Dr. Lunde often served as a key witness in trials involving people like Howard Hughes, who were the subjects of much speculation but few actual factual investigations. 

As a well-known Stanford psychiatrist, he was able to uncover the reasons why people committed outrageous and sometimes unspeakable acts which shocked their communities and even the world.

This book reveals previously unpublished details of the way in which doctors and other professionals go about trying to understand an event and then see that justice is served.  One such event discussed is the mass murder/suicide of almost one thousand Americans in a remote South American jungle clearing called Jonestown.

This memoir contains stories which are stranger than fiction but that actually happened.  They are told by someone who was in a unique position to learn about them and who now shares the experience with the reader. 

About the Author

Dr. Lunde was born and raised in Wisconsin but came to Stanford University in 1954 (as did his wife, Marilynn).  He spent summers on active duty with the U.S. Navy and graduated in 1958 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.  He served as a CIC Officer and member of a military court aboard the flagship USS Yorktown from 1958-61.

He returned to Stanford in 1961 and earned a master’s degree in psychology in 1964 and his M.D. degree in 1966.  An internship in internal medicine was followed by a residency in psychiatry at Stanford Medical Center.  In 1969 he was appointed to the faculty in psychiatry, where he taught without interruption for over 25 years.  He has had additional faculty appointments at the Stanford Law School and the Program in Human Biology at Stanford.  He was also a member of the first successful U.S. heart transplant team in the 1960’s and in 1969 published the first paper in history on psychiatric complications of heart transplants.

His position in the field of forensic psychiatry was firmly established with the publication of his book Murder and Madness over twenty-five years ago.  He has served as a consultant and expert witness for judges and attorneys from Hawaii to Florida on over two hundred cases, some criminal and some civil.

In an important First Amendment case, Dr. Lunde was the psychiatrist consultant and expert witness for CBS, Columbia Records, and the British heavy metal rock group, Judas Priest.  In this case two families sued, claiming that a Judas Priest recording “induced” their sons to commit suicide.

Dr. Lunde and his wife have five sons and thirteen grandchildren.  Appropriately enough, they have co-authored a book entitled, The Next Generation: A Book on Parenting.

Dr. Lunde’s present title is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Emeritus, Stanford University School of Medicine.