Ilan Stavans

Don Quixote' is a very political book that has been used by diplomats, politicians, guerrilla fighters, to inspire people, to convince them that they themselves can become quixotic. George Washington had a copy of the book on his desk when signing the U.S. Constitution.

Mexican Author

Mark Billingham

Ian Rankin's Rebus is the king of modern British crime fiction. He is dour, determined, and constantly falls foul of his seniors. For all this, we root for him. He is eminently loveable, a quixotic hero moving through the darker half of a Jekyll and Hyde Edinburgh.

English Novelist

Ted Cruz

If you think back to the fight over drones, when I was proud to be standing shoulder to shoulder with Rand Paul filibustering for 13 hours, that was viewed as a fringe issue, as a quixotic issue, and yet millions of Americans engaged, spoke up, got online.

American Politician

T. C. Boyle

I'm just kind of fascinated by how we can deny that we are animals and what our impact on the other animals is like, and how quixotic we can be in trying to assess what we've done in trying to correct it.

American Novelist

George Vecsey

Three of the brightest baseball pitchers of their times staged comebacks without much success - David Cone, Jim Bouton and Jim Palmer - but there was room to admire their quixotic gesture.

American Author

Michael Wolff

Rusbridger's curious success, especially for a temperamentally remote figure, has been to give a reasonable face to the Guardian's quite quixotic mission.

Gioconda Belli

There is nothing quixotic or romantic in wanting to change the world. It is possible. It is the age-old vocation of all humanity.

Kurt Elling

It's true that I'm not known as a crooner or balladeer. I'm known for a more crusading or quixotic temperament.

American Musician

The word 'quixotic' is inspired by Don Quixote, a character who chased unrealistic dreams.

Cervantes' Influence

'Quixotic' often describes efforts doomed to fail because the goal is unachievable.

Unattainable Goals

Sometimes 'quixotic' expresses admiration for someone's bold but impractical ideas.

Not Negative Always

Shows someone acting on romantic ideals without regard for practicality.

Romantic Notion

Highlights innocence or naivety in pursuing overly idealistic or romantic goals.

Naive Enthusiasm

Refers to outmoded chivalric or heroic actions in today's practical world.

Chivalry Echoes

 to understand the relationship between the physical world and the mysterious, quixotic emotion we call "joy." And what I discovered is that not only are they linked, but that the physical world can be a powerful resource to us