Brazelton and Leach. Between the two I did pretty well.
To be fair to Spock he did revise his advice over the years.
One book I read (can’t remember which) advised letting your child cry themselves to sleep but set a timer for 5 minutes. Only after 5 minutes you could pick them up. The timer was set because when your baby is crying even two minutes seems like hours. Worked like a charm for me–seems my kid needed to cry 5 minutes before drifting off–if you picked her up before the 5 minutes–the 5 minutes started over (and over).
Another best piece of advice was describing the terrible twos, terrific threes etc in relation to growth spurts which occur every 6 months or so. Made it easier to last through tantrum stages and enjoy the peaceful times.
As a lifelong slackermom I didn’t read any books about parenting. Things seemed to have worked out. 
I never read What to Expect When You’re Expecting, and I lacked some serious knowledge as a result. Like, who knew you bled for weeks after giving birth? And who knew that your milk had to “come in” and, when it did, it felt like two bowling balls on your chest? I was not informed. 
@emilybee - you are my hero
I didn’t use books much, but when my younger son was barely 1 yr old he figured out how to push my buttons and make me really furious (clever kid!). I consulted Spock, the ultimate authority, to answer my burning question, which was: “At what age is a child old enough to be spanked?” Well, imagine my disappointment when the book recommended against spanking at any age! Unfortunately, it took me a few more years to reach that same conclusion on my own.
I used the revised Spock as a reference. We didn’t have any significant sleep issues, thank doG, so we never fell afoul of that portion! I found it excellent on everything else.
I remember liking what I saw of Brazelton, he was very reassuring.
I think I read the “your teenager is crazy” one and found it very helpful at the transitional stage.
I disliked the “What to Expect” books. They were so extremely full of extreme mommy stuff, such as–regarding eating during pregnancy–“ONE fast food mean may not hurt your baby…” Oh, please. I ate very healthily during pregnancy and exercised a lot, don’t get me wrong. But that was sheer nonsense.
Count me in as another fan of Voyage to the Bunny Planet!
What memories! I read a lot of the books mentioned.
I had my mom’s Spock book. It was revolutionary for its time because he told parents to trust their gut and he was not a proponent of strict feeding schedules, which were popular way back when. He also let moms love on their kids, which had been discouraged before.
Brazelton was my favorite, too. I remember in one book he had a story about a mom and baby who had a personality mismatch: mom was outgoing and wanted an equally outgoing baby, but had a quiet, thoughtful one. Once mom came to understand and accept her child everything went better.
I didn’t read any of the parenting books, except a couple on breastfeeding. We relied on our parents’ examples (good or bad, what to do, not do), and common sense.
Common sense unfortunately, is not so helpful when your child has concerns that are outside of the idealized norm.
I did go by what my gut told me much of the time, which is why we practiced extended nursing & the family bed, but books were reassuring when well meaning but clueless observers had a problem with my parenting style.
When they were newborns, it was Dr. Spock. He was so reassuring. I had another big illustrated hardback as well but I don’t remember the name of it.
Another slacker here who didn’t read parent books, but I heard a wonderful line from Haim Ginott, who wrote a few, “Don’t change a mind, change a mood”. My h was much better at actually doing this than I was.
Another great one-line guide to human relations, with older kids, spouses, pretty much everyone “Don’t miss a golden opportunity to keep your mouth shut”. I think this comes from a co-worker’s mother, who unfortunately didn’t publish.
Great gift for pregnant women who like to read, “Ever Since Eve” by Nancy Caldwell Sorel. It’s out of print, but you can find it online.
Dr. Spock - the guidance on establishing a routine was such great advice as my kids were born during the decade of parents “letting” babies establish the routine. I learned that you never ever let your kids establish the routine until they are about 17 or 18
The Wonder of Boys by Michael Gurian and Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson. My two favorites. I like their general philosophy - boys and girls are different. Duh. Seems obvious to me, having spent my entire life surrounded by either brothers or sons, but it surprised me how many books were geared towards the non-existent generic “kid”.
Not a book, but this video is an example of the greatest parenting technique ever…distraction! I used it to diffuse many situations over the decades of parenting high spirited kids. I so wish I had found a doctor like this for my kids. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MOOxpT9q2mo
Another vote for “Raising Your Spirited Child . . .” along with The Baby Book by Sears. It was less anecdotal and more reference oriented than some books. You could look up croup and it would tell you what to do. I also found that it was full of suggestions about how to figure out your kid rather than how to train your kid. It helped me to be flexible and look and listen for cues as well as finding what ways my babies liked to be held or fed or whatever. Babies, like adults, have different “styles” and what works for one might not work for another.
On Becoming Babywise by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam