I actually started reading Wirth because I was frustrated at how little coverage there seems to be of syntax related matters (lexing and parsing) in modern introductory books (with a couple of exceptions, notably the Dragon Book, but I've been having a hard time wrapping my head around it).

I emailed an author of a book that specifically calls parsing a "distraction" (Shriram Krishnamurthi, in PLAI) and he explained that he and other textbook authors of recent texts are reacting to a sort of over-emphasis on parsing in older books and tools (for example, YACC standing for Yet Another Compiler Constructor despite being simply a parser generator).

So it's interesting what you're saying about IRs -- I've definitely noticed Shriram's book and a few other recent ones seem to focus really heavily on them. I wonder if there's also a relationship between a more IR-focused approach and the reduced emphasis on parsing?