This book by the distinguished journalist Iain Macwhirter is designed to accompany an STV series on the background to the referendum of 2014.

He declares that it is not intended "to be a history book" but a personal attempt to come to grips with the "astonishing growth" of Scottish national identity and the parallel rise of the SNP in his lifetime. How did the nationalists metamorphose from the "Monster Raving Loony Party" of the 1950s to becoming the government of a devolved Scotland in the new millennium? He sees his target readership as a general audience and those from outside Scotland who are showing increasing interest in what is happening at this crucial period in the political history of the country but have difficulty in making sense of it all.

Macwhirter modestly admits in his preface that as a journalist he ventures into "the minefield of Scottish history with trepidation" and fears his account may draw forth the wrath of scholars in this highly contested field. There is nothing wrong with that, of course, even if the book does elicit an intemperate response from some. After all, history thrives on controversy, argument, provocation and the clash of ideas. These are its very lifeblood; fresh perspectives on old issues are therefore to be warmly welcomed.

Moreover, Macwhirter is being over-modest. He may not have a doctorate in Scottish history or a stream of monographs to his name, but on the subject of the recent past of the nation he has very much to offer as an accomplished observer of the Scottish scene in radio, television and print journalism since the 1970s. His articles in the press are always worth reading for their clarity, balance and incisiveness. He also knows, or knew, all the key players in recent Scottish politics and so brings an acquaintance with the "inside track" which few academic researchers can match.

For some reason, however, Macwhirter decided to begin his book in the very heart of the contentious "minefield" of Scotland's history, from the Wars of Independence to the early 20th century, where his own expertise is least relevant. Knowledge of key aspects of that past is of course essential to an understanding of the present but it might have been advisable to compress the overview of earlier history and link it more directly to the question which is the core subject of the book, for example, by trying to explain why nationalism was such a latecomer to the Scottish political scene.

Research and publication on many aspects of those centuries is fast-moving and reading a few general books on them does little to enhance the credibility of the analysis. Macwhirter's discussion of important subjects as varied as the "Darien Disaster", the Union of 1707, industrialisation, Victorian emigration and the cultural impact of Sir Walter Scott over several chapters are often neither provocative nor contentious but simply rather stale and dated.

Only when the book moves to the later 20th century and beyond does it really come alive and the author come into his own. Here the text is peppered with typical Macwhirter one-liners: "the SNP in the 1960s and 1970s was a pacifist organisation inspired more by Gandhi than Gerry Adams"; "Scottish nationalism is a post-modern nationalism in which being internationalist and multicultural are important, indeed arguably more important, than the celebration of Scottish identity"; "the Scottish National Party has shown that multicultural nationalism is not an oxymoron", to cite but a few. They could provide student essay questions for years to come with only the word "discuss" added to them.

The success of the SNP came late. It was a sect rather than a party for most of the 20th century. The most successful political organisation in electoral terms during Scotland's long drawn-out economic agony in the 1920s and 1930s was the Scottish Unionists. Indeed I would argue that the foundation of the SNP in 1934 reflected the fact that even Labour and the Liberals were cooling in their attitude to home rule and so some thought the cause might therefore go by default without the impetus of a new party. The second world war, nationalisation of major industries and the foundation of the welfare state in the 1940s engendered an even deeper sense of Britishness. The Union state had rarely been more secure; there was still no sign of the challenge to come.

That is why Macwhirter is surely correct to see the 1960s as a key watershed. The beginnings of the disintegration of an older Scotland began then: the origins of deindustrialisation, which later reached a climax in the 1980s, the rapid erosion of the ancient hegemony of the Kirk and the development of a new secularism, and the emerging moral vacuum filled by materialism, youth culture, the women's movement, CND, early environmentalism and much else. Out of this "cultural maelstrom" argues Macwhirter, emerged a stronger sense of Scottish nationalism as one branch of the non-revolutionary left. It was in the 1960s too that the old symbols of Scottish identity – kilt, tartan and bagpipes – were reinvented. Soon it became cool to wear the kilt at everything from weddings to international football matches.

But these developments did not necessarily or directly build the "road to referendum" or make a Scottish journey towards possible independence inevitable. The factors which did so came later and included the impact of the Thatcher governments, the collapse of the Conservatives in Scotland, the coming of the Scottish Parliament, some disenchantment with Scottish Labour at Holyrood and the perceived effectiveness of the first SNP minority administration.

All this has been well documented by a number of historians and political scientists, and the book adds little to these accounts despite the inclusion of interviews with some of the key players for the television series which the volume complements.

Surprisingly, perhaps, there is not much on the discussions within the unionist parties, and especially within the Labour Party, about plans for enhanced devolution which might be given public expression in 2014 or even sooner, as they attempt to shoot the nationalist fox. Indeed, it is one of the ironies of the referendum discussion that as the day for decision comes closer, a curious convergence in the evolving policies of nationalists and unionists seems to be emerging. The SNP talks of a "social union", wishes to retain the pound and keep the Queen as head of state, while the unionist parties are all moving individually towards supporting some form of "devo-max" well beyond the current arrangements. The gap between "independence" and "devolution" is narrowing.

Near the end of the book Macwhirter suggests that "it looks likely that Salmond will lose in October 2014". Even if that turns out to be the case, however, the national mood is unlikely to accept the constitutional status quo as Holyrood and Westminster continue inexorably to drift apart in crucial areas of public, economic, social and domestic policy.

Road To Referendum

Iain Macwhirter

Cargo Publishing, £13.99