Philip Stover is a historian specializing in the study of revolutionary and post-revolutionary Mexico. His books, articles, and presentations focus on the impact of religious and other sectarian influences on that country, especially in the late 19th and early twentieth centuries. Philip retired to his home in Mata Ortiz, Chihuahua after serving as an associate professor and senior administrator in both higher education and K-12 institutions from New Jersey to California. He is the author of the book series, The Search for the Soul of Mexico – Religion and Revolution. The first two books in the series are available in both English and Spanish. The first book won a national award in the United States for non-fiction literature. Phil has written and spoken extensively on the history of both the Mexican Mormon and Mennonite Colonies in Chihuahua and Sonora.

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Philip is a member of the executive committee of the board of directors of the National Association of Independent Scholars. He travels to universities and historical societies in both the United States and Mexico to speak on subjects related to the religious history of Mexico and the history of religion as conflict. He serves on local municipal historical committees, as well as lecturing at the Mexican Federal School of Anthropology and History. Philip is a PhD candidate in Mexican religious history at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England. His doctoral thesis is entitled “An Immense Silence: La Segunda Cristiada in Chihuahua – Violence and the Struggle for Lost Patrimony 1929-1940.” He is a member of the Council on Faith and History, The Mormon History Association, and the Council on Latin American History. Ambrose Bierce was a famous writer from the United States who fought with Francisco Villa in the Revolution. His fate and burial place in Mexico is unknown. Philip Stover is now happy to take over the title as a modern-day-not-so-famous “Gringo Viejo” in Mexico!

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To see a representative sample of his historical presentations in both English and Spanish see the Presentations page of this website.