A memoir about the Canadian music industry, an exposé about the rise of the 1 per cent, and a corporate biography about the evolution of a ubiquitous franchise are among the finalists for the $20,000 National Business Book Award. The nominees are:

• True North: A Life in the Music Business by Bernie Finkelstein (McClelland & Stewart)

• Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else by Chrystia Freeland (Doubleday Canada)

• Double Double: How Tim Hortons Became a Canadian Way of Life One Cup at a Time by Douglas Hunter (HarperCollins Canada)

• The Power of Why by Amanda Lang (HarperCollins Canada)

The shortlist was selected by a jury chaired by Roger Martin, dean of the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. The other jurors are Jane Cooney (founder of Books for Business), William Dimma (chairman emeritus of Home Capital Group), Peter Mansbridge, (host of CBC’s The National), Deirdre McMurdy (journalist and policy analyst), and Senator Pamela Wallin.

The winner will be announced May 28.