Hi,
A base peak is the peak with the largest absorbance - this is often not the same as the molecular peak as Electron Impact Mass Spectrometry (the method on page 110) often fragments molecules during the process.
Just to reiterate:
Parent peak = biggest Molecular Weight (MW) peak observed, made by unfragmented ion. Often equal to MW of compound.
Base peak = highest absorbance peak.
Please let me know if this is unclear and refer to the picture on page 110 of EK.