Don Quixote's traits can be found in many characters in world literature (Mr. Pickwick, Chichikov, Tartarin, Prince Myshkin, Emma Bovary, Tom Sawyer, etc.); philosophical and journalistic interpretations of the hero of the novel by Cervantes were created in different European countries, but only in Spain, in his homeland, was he conceptualized as a national myth, like the Spanish Christ, who tirelessly preaches his teachings, finds an apostle - Sancho Panza and endures passions - cruel jokes ducal couple. This is exactly how Don Quixote is perceived by the outstanding writer, poet and thinker Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936), the brightest personality in Spain in the first third of the 20th century, the spiritual leader of the “generation of ’98”, the author of “The Lives of Don Quixote and Sancho”, a unique work not which has analogues in the history of literature and literary criticism. For him, “Quixotism” is the true Spanish national religion, and Cervantes’s novel is the Bible of humanity. Unamuno wrote: “The greatness of Don Quixote is that he was ridiculed and defeated, for, being defeated, he was a winner: he ruled the world, allowing it to laugh at himself.” This book is not only about the heroes of Cervantes, not only about the Spain of Don Quixote of La Mancha and Don Miguel de Unamuno; today, almost a hundred years after its publication, it is perceived, first of all, as a passionate appeal of its author to readers: long live Don Quixote! May he live in the soul of each of us!