John Mills

John Mills was an American engineer and science writer, born in 1880 and died in 1948. Contemporary catalog records and digitized editions identify him as the author of Letters of a Radio-Engineer to His Son, Within the Atom, The Realities of Modern Science, and Electronics; Today and Tomorrow.

His best-known book, Letters of a Radio-Engineer to His Son (1922), presents radio technology as a series of friendly letters, turning a fast-changing field into something approachable for ordinary readers. The book itself identifies him with the Engineering Department of Western Electric Company, which helps explain the practical, hands-on tone of his writing.

Across his books, he focused on explaining electricity, radio, electrons, and quantum ideas without heavy mathematics. That mix of technical knowledge and clear language makes his work a vivid snapshot of how early 20th-century readers were introduced to the new world of electronics.