I saw the The Baby Owner's Manual: Operating Instructions, Trouble-Shooting Tips, and Advice on First-Year Maintenance at some hippy gift shop near our house in DC, but it turns out to be pretty good. Well designed, informative, and written with a healthy, slightly irreverent tone. The authors' name looked oddly familiar, too: Borgenicht. I'd gone to middle school with a Borgenicht. This book is by his father--a highly respected pediatrician in Utah, where they know a thing or two about high birth rates-- and his brother, a new dad.
The Borgenicht I knew, David, is no stranger to publishing, either. He is one of the creators of the awesome Worst Case Scenario series. Naturally, there's a Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook for Parenting.
Note that the unit blocks from Melissa and Doug are made from imported hardwood, probably rubberwood. I don't know that it really matters, but the blocks you recall from your childhood were made from hard maple. I've bought blocks from www.barclaywoods.com -- they are great quality. Email and ask about blemished "seconds".