A Level Course
For the OCR A Level course, most schools will use the book by Heathcote which is probably right as the layout and content is simpler but I slightly prefer the book by Surrall and Hamflett because for most topics the detail is better. For AQA, the killer books are by Kevin Bond (Unit 1, Unit 2), but they are pricier. However the depth and detail is incredible, and you may find yourself using them even into your undergraduate studies.
General Reading List
I’m often asked by students what they should read that takes them outside the A Level and GCSE curriculum. The following books are a great starting point,
Weapons of Math Destruction
ISBN 978-0141985411 by Cathy O’Neil
Covers the downside of algorithms and how they can have unintended effects such as racist image recognition programs and good teachers being fired.
Algorithms to Live By
ISBN 9780007547999 by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths
A book about Computer Science and also a guide to life, this fascinating book brings to life potentially dry topics such as optimal stopping theory through examples such as finding a place to live, a parking spot, or even a life partner!
Dealers of Lightning
ISBN 978-0887309892 by Michael Hiltzik
Many of the technologies we now take for granted were developed 50 years ago by a small group of people over a short period of time. They worked at a place called the Xerox Palo Alto Research Centre (PARC). What I like most about this book is the insight it gives you into the difference between academic research and the new products that could be created from that research. Plot spoiler: it’s not so easy to turn a great idea into a successful product.
Superintelligence
ISBN 978-0198739838 by Nick Bostrom
The human brain has some capabilities that the brains of other animals lack. It is to these distinctive capabilities that our species owes its dominant position.
If machine brains one day surpass human brains in general intelligence, then this new superintelligence could become very powerful. The fate of our species then would come to depend on the actions of the machine superintelligence.