Mardi Gras falls on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 and the crowds will be gathering in New Orleans for the festivities. Whether you're planning on joining them, or thinking about a trip to The Big Easy later in the year, we have books to help you Laissez les bons temps rouler.

Orleans embrace: with the secret gardens of the Vieux Carre by TJ Fisher, Roy F. Guste, Jr.

Eyewitness travel top 10 New Orleans by Paul Greenberg

Fodor's 2012 New Orleans by [lead editor, Molly Moker]

Mardi Gras: a pictorial history of carnival in New Orleans by Leonard V. Huber