for the inauguration of the Louvre Pyramid in 1989; and () for the Opéra Bastille in 1990, both completed in six to eight weeks instead of the usual two or three months. Alongside many works dictated by current events, there are also a number of "strange curiosities", such as a book devoted to red hair ( – ), which is unusual in this type of collection. Some subjects can be more difficult to sell but considered necessary, such as the perspective ( – ), images of human body ( – ) and mannerism ( – ). But in recent years, there were more monographs on memoirs of places and large institutions instead of artists, as well as various sociological and religious aspects, for instance, a book on the history of New York City by Jerome Charyn, which is translated and adapted from his English work Metropolis: New York as Myth, Marketplace, and Magical Land ( – ); titles on agrifood ( – ), on homosexuality ( – ), or on drugs ( – ); titles about Marian devotions and apparition ( – & – ), about Christian saints and Sufism ( – & – ). And also numerous volumes devoted to writers, for example, the title . Difficult subjects were frequently in demand, possibly because there was less competition. Thus a book on the Cistercian monks ( – ) was one of the bestsellers in 1990. While the others like (, about gold rush) or (, about pirates) are presumably subjects more common and popular, were relative failures. Generally, the most popular titles are those from and series, the title À la recherche de l'Égypte oubliée and the title L'écriture, mémoire des hommes—both in series—remain two of the bestsellers. As of 2001, the former would have sold more than five hundred thousand copies worldwide. As for the series, there are only four most favoured titles: (), (), () and (). Competition has emerged as early as in the middle of the 1990s, with a gradual decrease in circulation and novelties, but partially offset by the sub-collection entitled , which is one of the five spin-offs. Today, about fifteen old titles are updated every year according to current cultural and scientific research. As general history plays a central role in "Découvertes Gallimard", completed by archaeology, art history and science, richly accompanied by unpublished illustrations, thus it forms a solid editorial base.