Title: Specialist

Title: Specialist Title Record # 45711
Author: Robert Sheckley
Date: 1953-05-00
Type: SHORTFICTION
Length: short story
Webpages: archive.org, Wikipedia-EN
Language: English

Synopsis: A crew of aliens who rely on cooperation between specialized species rather than mechanical devices for space travel loses an essential member, and discover that the only species nearby which could replace him are humans, and they must convince a human to join them.

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Current Tags: alien point of view (1), interstellar travel (1), social commentary (1), humor (1) Add Tags

Other Titles

Variant Titles

Translations

Year	Title
1956	M Molecule

Year	Language	Title
1954^ⓘTranslated by Marcel Battin (to be verified for Galaxie)	French	Les spécialisés^?Les specialises
1955^ⓘTranslated by Giorgio Monicelli	Italian	Cooperazione galattica
1959^ⓘTranslated by Lothar Heinecke	German	Spezialist
1968^ⓘTranslated by Henk Bouwman	Dutch	Specialist
1979^ⓘTranslated by Drago Bajt and/or Bogdan Gradišnik and/or Branko Gradišnik	Slovenian	Specialist
1980^ⓘTranslated by Mirjana Živković	Croatian	Stručnjak^?Struchnjak
1981^ⓘTranslated by G. S.	Italian	Specialista
1982^ⓘTranslated by Michael Görden	German	Spezialist
1983	Swedish	Specialisten
1984^ⓘ• Translated by Mirjana Živković	Serbian	Stručnjak^?Strucnjak Struchnjak [as by Robert Šekli^?Robert Sekli Robert Shekli ]
1995^ⓘTranslated by Delia Ivănescu	Romanian	Specialistul
1996^ⓘ Translated by Gavrilo Vučković	Serbian	Specijalista [as by Robert Šekli^?Robert Sekli Robert Shekli ]

Publications

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Title	Date	Author/Editor	Publisher/Pub. Series	ISBN/Catalog ID	Price	Pages	Format	Type	Cover Artist
Galaxy Science Fiction, May 1953	1953-05-00	ed. H. L. Gold	Galaxy Publishing Corporation		$0.35^?$: US dollar	164	digest^?Digest-size magazine, including both standard digest size, at about 7" by 4.5", and also large digest, such as recent issues of Asimov's, which are about 8.25" by 5.125".	mag	Mel Hunter
Untouched by Human Hands	1954-03-00	Robert Sheckley	Ballantine Books	H-73	$2.50^?$: US dollar	169+ [1]	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	coll
Untouched by Human Hands	1954-03-00	Robert Sheckley	Ballantine Books	73	$0.35^?$: US dollar	169	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	Jack Coggins
Second Galaxy Reader of Science Fiction	1954-04-00	ed. H. L. Gold	Crown Publishers		$3.50^?$: US dollar	vi+ [2]+ 504	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	anth	Mel Hunter
Untouched by Human Hands	1955-00-00	Robert Sheckley	Michael Joseph (Novels of Tomorrow)		12/-^?Prior to decimilisation (1968-1971), UK books were priced in shillings, or shillings and pence, where 20 shillings equals one pound and 12 old pence equals one shilling. Shillings were indicated with a variety of suffixes, e.g. 3s, 3', 3", 3/ all mean 3 shillings. Any number after that is additional pence, usually 6 (half a shilling) but sometimes 3 or 9 (a quarter of a shilling or three-quarters of a shilling).	253	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	coll
Argosy (UK), July 1956	1956-07-00	ed. Editors of Argosy (UK)	The Amalgamated Press		2/-^?Prior to decimilisation (1968-1971), UK books were priced in shillings, or shillings and pence, where 20 shillings equals one pound and 12 old pence equals one shilling. Shillings were indicated with a variety of suffixes, e.g. 3s, 3', 3", 3/ all mean 3 shillings. Any number after that is additional pence, usually 6 (half a shilling) but sometimes 3 or 9 (a quarter of a shilling or three-quarters of a shilling).	144	digest^?Digest-size magazine, including both standard digest size, at about 7" by 4.5", and also large digest, such as recent issues of Asimov's, which are about 8.25" by 5.125".	mag
Untouched by Human Hands	1960-11-00	Robert Sheckley	Ballantine Books	437K	$0.35^?$: US dollar	169	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	Blanchard
Contact	1963-05-00	ed. Noel Keyes	Paperback Library	52-211	$0.50^?$: US dollar	176	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	anth	John Schoenherr
Contact	1965-08-00	ed. Noel Keyes	Paperback Library	52-837	C$0.50^?C$: Canadian dollar	176	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	anth	John Schoenherr
Contact	1965-08-00	ed. Noel Keyes	Paperback Library	52-837	$0.50^?$: US dollar	176	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	anth	John Schoenherr
Untouched by Human Hands	1967-04-00	Robert Sheckley	Four Square Books	1804	3/6^?Prior to decimilisation (1968-1971), UK books were priced in shillings, or shillings and pence, where 20 shillings equals one pound and 12 old pence equals one shilling. Shillings were indicated with a variety of suffixes, e.g. 3s, 3', 3", 3/ all mean 3 shillings. Any number after that is additional pence, usually 6 (half a shilling) but sometimes 3 or 9 (a quarter of a shilling or three-quarters of a shilling).	125	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll
Untouched by Human Hands	1967-12-00	Robert Sheckley	Ballantine Bal-Hi	U2855	$0.50^?$: US dollar	169+ [1]	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll
The Mirror of Infinity: A Critics' Anthology of Science Fiction	1970-05-00	ed. Robert Silverberg	Harper & Row		$6.95^?$: US dollar	xi+ 324	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	anth	Fred Cantor
The Mirror of Infinity: A Critics' Anthology of Science Fiction	1970-05-00	ed. Robert Silverberg	Canfield Press		$^?$: US dollar	xi+ 324	tp^?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep.	anth	Fred Cantor
The Mirror of Infinity: A Critics' Anthology of Science Fiction	1971-07-00	ed. Robert Silverberg	Sidgwick & Jackson	0-283-48473-X	£2.50^?£: UK pound	xi+ 312	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	anth	Fred Cantor
Science Fiction 3	1973-00-00	ed. Robert Pierce, Murray Suid	Houghton Mifflin	0-395-13746-2		107	tp^?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep.	anth
The Mirror of Infinity: A Critics' Anthology of Science Fiction	1973-00-00	ed. Robert Silverberg	Perennial Library / Harper & Row	0-06-080306-1	$1.50^?$: US dollar	xiv+ 303	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	anth
The Robert Sheckley Omnibus	1973-10-00	Robert Sheckley	Gollancz	0-575-01677-9		320	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	coll
As Tomorrow Becomes Today	1974-00-00	ed. Charles Wm. Sullivan, III	Prentice-Hall	0-13-050021-6	$4.95^?$: US dollar	xv+ 456	tp^?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep.	anth
As Tomorrow Becomes Today	1974-00-00	ed. Charles Wm. Sullivan, III	Prentice-Hall	0-13-050039-9	$7.95^?$: US dollar	xv+ 456	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	anth
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow ...	1974-02-07	ed. Bonnie L. Heintz, Frank Herbert, Donald A. Joos, Jane Agorn McGee	Holt, Rinehart and Winston	0-03-010796-2		x+ 619	tp^?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep.	anth
The Robert Sheckley Omnibus	1975-00-00	Robert Sheckley	Penguin Books	0-14-003982-1	£0.80^?£: UK pound	392	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	David Pelham
Tales of Terror from Outer Space	1975-00-00	ed. R. Chetwynd-Hayes	Fontana (Fontana Tales of Terror)	0-00-613960-4	£0.45^?£: UK pound	190	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	anth	Justin Todd
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow ...	1976-00-00	ed. Bonnie L. Heintz, Frank Herbert, Donald A. Joos, Jane Agorn McGee	Holt, Rinehart and Winston	0-03-010796-2		x+ 619	tp^?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep.	anth
Science Fiction: Contemporary Mythology: The SFWA-SFRA Anthology	1978-00-00	ed. Martin Harry Greenberg, Joseph Olander, Patricia Warrick	Harper & Row	0-06-046943-9		xviii+ 476	tp^?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep.	anth
Science Fiction: Contemporary Mythology: The SFWA-SFRA Anthology	1978-06-00	ed. Martin Harry Greenberg, Joseph Olander, Patricia Warrick	Harper & Row	0-06-011626-9	$14.95^?$: US dollar	xviii+ 476	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	anth	Mark Rubin
Untouched by Human Hands	1979-03-00	Robert Sheckley	Ace Books	0-441-84680-7	$1.75^?$: US dollar	214	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	Olivia
The Wonderful World of Robert Sheckley	1979-11-00	Robert Sheckley	Bantam Books	0-553-12905-8	$1.95^?$: US dollar	xii+ 195	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	Paul Lehr
The Wonderful World of Robert Sheckley	1980-00-00	Robert Sheckley	Sphere	0-7221-7759-3	£1.00^?£: UK pound	209	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll
The Golden Age of Science Fiction	1981-10-00	ed. Kingsley Amis	Hutchinson	0-09-145770-X	£6.95^?£: UK pound	370	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	anth
The Golden Age of Science Fiction	1983-00-00	ed. Kingsley Amis	Penguin Books	0-14-006382-X	£2.95^?£: UK pound	365	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	anth	Mick Brownfield
The Robert Sheckley Omnibus	1984-00-00	Robert Sheckley	Penguin Books	0-14-003982-1	£2.50^?£: UK pound	392	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll	Adrian Chesterman
The Collected Short Fiction of Robert Sheckley: Book One	1991-09-00	Robert Sheckley	Pulphouse Publishing			331	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	coll
The Collected Short Fiction of Robert Sheckley	1991-09-00	Robert Sheckley	Pulphouse Publishing		$150.00^?$: US dollar	331+ 380+ 360+ 275+ 344	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	omni
The Collected Short Fiction of Robert Sheckley: Book One	1992-07-00	Robert Sheckley	Pulphouse Publishing	1-56146-420-1	$12.95^?$: US dollar	331	tp^?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep.	coll
The SF Collection	1994-08-00	ed. Edel Brosnan	Chancellor Press	1-85152-317-0	£4.99^?£: UK pound	501	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	anth	Luis Royo
The Flying Sorcerers	1997-08-00	ed. Peter Haining	Souvenir Press	0-285-63388-0	£16.99^?£: UK pound	267	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	anth	Josh Kirby
Science Fiction: Contemporary Mythology: The SFWA-SFRA Anthology	1998-00-00	ed. Martin Harry Greenberg, Joseph Olander, Patricia Warrick	HarperCollins	0-06-046943-9	$15.62^?$: US dollar		hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	anth
The Flying Sorcerers	1998-11-00	ed. Peter Haining	Ace Books	0-441-00577-2	$5.99^?$: US dollar	x+ 304	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	anth	Walter Velez
The Flying Sorcerers	1999-00-00	ed. Peter Haining	Orbit	1-85723-725-0	£6.99^?£: UK pound	372	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	anth	Josh Kirby
The Flying Sorcerers: More Comic Tales of Fantasy	1999-02-00	ed. Peter Haining	Orbit	1-85723-725-0	£5.99^?£: UK pound	xi+ 372	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	anth	Josh Kirby
The Flying Sorcerers	2001-00-00	ed. Peter Haining	Orbit	1-85723-725-0	£6.99^?£: UK pound	xi+ 372	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	anth	Josh Kirby
The Monsters and Other Science Fiction Tales	2008-04-00	Robert Sheckley	Wildside Press	978-1-4344-7005-8	$14.95^?$: US dollar	138	tp^?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep.	coll
A Sheckley Trilogy: Three Classic Tales of Science Fiction	2008-04-14	Robert Sheckley	Wonder Audiobooks, LLC				digital audio download^?Digital recording in any format that is downloaded directly from the Internet. This category includes podcasts.	coll	Robert Engle
The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction	2010-08-01	ed. Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, Jr., Arthur B. Evans, Joan Gordon, Veronica Hollinger, Rob Latham, Carol McGuirk	Wesleyan University Press	978-0-8195-6954-7	$85.00^?$: US dollar	688	hc^?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.	anth
The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction	2010-08-01	ed. Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, Jr., Arthur B. Evans, Joan Gordon, Veronica Hollinger, Rob Latham, Carol McGuirk	Wesleyan University Press	978-0-8195-6955-4	$39.95^?$: US dollar	xviii+ 767	tp^?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep.	anth	Georges Méliès
"The Perfect Woman" and Other Stories	2011-06-09	Robert Sheckley	Armchair Fiction (Armchair Fiction Masters of Science Fiction #3)	978-1-61287-040-3	$16.95^?$: US dollar	320	tp^?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep.	coll	Ed Valigursky
Store of the Worlds: The Stories of Robert Sheckley	2012-05-01	Robert Sheckley	New York Review of Books (NYRB Classics)	978-1-59017-494-4	$17.95^?$: US dollar	xi+ 396	tp^?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep.	coll	Keith Carter
Anthropomorphic Aliens: An Interstellar Anthology	2014-07-03	ed. Fred Patten	FurPlanet Productions	978-1-61450-192-3	$19.95^?$: US dollar	301	tp^?Trade paperback. Any softcover book which is at least 7.25" (or 19 cm) tall, or at least 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide/deep.	anth	Roz Gibson
Untouched by Human Hands	2021-06-03	Robert Sheckley	Penguin Books (Penguin Classics Science Fiction)	978-0-14-199460-4	£8.99^?£: UK pound		ebook^?Used for all electronic formats, including but not limited to EPUB, eReader, HTML, iBook, Mobipocket, and PDF.	coll
Untouched by Human Hands	2021-06-03	Robert Sheckley	Penguin Books (Penguin Classics Science Fiction)	978-0-241-47302-3	£8.99^?£: UK pound	208	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	coll
The Mirror of Infinity: A Critics' Anthology of Science Fiction	date unknown	ed. Robert Silverberg	Perennial Library / Harper & Row	0-06-080306-1	$1.95^?$: US dollar	xiv+ 303	pb^?Paperback. Typically 7" by 4.25" (18 cm by 11 cm) or smaller, though trimming errors can cause them to sometimes be slightly (less than 1/4 extra inch) taller or wider/deeper.	anth

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