Wade Davis's "Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest."

Five finalists were announced Tuesday morning for the 2012 Charles Taylor Prize for Canadian literary non-fiction. They are:

• Wade Davis for Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest, published by Alfred A. Knopf Canada.

• Charlotte Gill for Eating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber, and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe, published by Greystone Books.

• JJ Lee for The Measure of a Man: The Story of a Father, a Son, and a Suit, published by McClelland & Stewart.

• Madeline Sonik for Afflictions & Departures: Essays, published by Anvil Press.

• Andrew Westoll for The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary: A Canadian Story of Resilience and Recovery, published by HarperCollins Publishers

The winner will be announced March 5 in Toronto.

The 2012 Charles Taylor Prize jury is composed of authors Allan M. Brandt and Stevie Cameron and non-fiction publishing consultant Susan Renouf. For the above shortlist they considered 115 books, submitted by 35 publishers.