A Celebration of Horst Seidler on His Sixtieth Birthday

Horst Seidler’s curriculum vitae reminds the anthropologist of the early descriptions of human evolution, or, better, it is like the classic »hero myth«. The brave warrior sets out on his journey, seeks and faces and masters challenges along the way, and triumphs at the end. The heroic saga is a parable for Seidler’s scientific career that touches on several aspects of his personality: a deep emotional involvement with his aims, enthusiasm and an almost frightening thirst for action, an outstanding drive to realize his ideas in his own way, and, above all, a great, courageous heart. We authors, his former students, were initially ensnared by an additional quality of his: the incomparable rhetoric. Despite the fact that he lectures mornings at 7, preferably on Saturdays, even the largest lecture hall is full. These purely personal characteristics underlie all of Seidler’s national and international achievements. Let us explain.