Yeah, all the books that claims to be A-level standard seems a tad hardcore right? Well, those books are not the real deal, it is only one of UK's many pathetic attempts to revive their once ' golden A level standard.' Also, if it is really that hard, the average grade for A-Level wouldn't have been a B. Check out their study designs and past papers, its a joke really. Many criticisms also include the fact that their syllabus hasn't change for decades, they are simply not up to date and that their papers are getting easier to anticipate each year. Their own teachers even admitted that its not due to better teaching that the average grades had soared recently, but because their papers are getting easier and more predictable. The fact that UCAS acknowledge that their A -Level is getting trashed by international qualifications such as IB also says a lot.