Reddit reviews Gumbo Ya-Ya: A Collection of Louisiana Folk Tales

Gumbo Ya-ya gets into the history of certain groups of New Orleans, such as the Creoles, the Cajuns, the Knickerbockers and the like. Has some good old folk tales from New Orleans, as well.
Probably my favorite book about New Orleans (after Confederacy, of course).

Some that I love:

• The World That Made New Orleans by Ned Sublette
  
• Gumbo Ya-Ya: A Collection of Louisiana Folk Tales by Robert Tallant, Lyle Saxon, Edward Dreyer
  
• New Orleans Then and Now by Richard and Marina Campanella
  
• Eat Dat New Orleans: A Guide to the Unique Food Culture of the Crescent City by Michael Murphy

Gumbo Ya-Ya

Which is a collection of folk tales collected from 1930-1940 for the WPA Writers' Project and thoroughly entertaining. I will throw a caution out for the blatant racism/classism of Louisiana in the 1930's, but it's totally worth it.