the interpretation, however, was that the bombings were Kissinger's idea. He misled Reston about his own position and then misled the White House staff about these conversations, finally admitting the truth when confronted with his phone records. Reston also displayed his affinity for the powerful when Edward Kennedy drove his car off the bridge at Chappaquiddick Island, resulting in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne. Summering at nearby Martha's Vineyard, Reston filed the first account of the incident for The New York Times; his opening paragraph began "Tragedy has again struck the Kennedy family." Managing editor A. M. Rosenthal edited the text to make Kopechne the subject. Acupuncture Reston wrote for the Times that in July 1971, he suffered appendicitis while visiting China with his wife. After his appendix was removed through conventional surgery at the Anti-Imperialist Hospital in Beijing, his post-operative pain was treated by Li Chang-yuan with acupuncture that "sent ripples of pain racing through my limbs and, at least, had the effect of diverting my attention from the distress in my stomach." , an academic translator of traditional Chinese medical texts, credits Reston's article with the rise of traditional Chinese medicine in the body of alternative medicine of the West. Cultural references In the 1962 novel Fail-Safe, by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler, the unnamed President of the United States refers to Reston during an impending nuclear crisis when he says that "someone will crack and start to call Scotty or one of the wire services or some damn thing." Portrayals Reston is played by Kenneth Welsh in the TV movie Kissinger and Nixon. See also Afghanistanism Operation Mockingbird References Stacks, John F. Scotty: James B. Reston and the Rise and Fall of American Journalism. (2002) External links "James Reston: The Insider's Journalist in the Service of Empire", Edward S. Herman, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting's EXTRA Booknotes interview with Reston on Deadline: A Memoir, December 8, 1991. Speech by James Reston on March 16, 1967, discussing America in the world revolution. Audio recording from The University of Alabama's Emphasis Symposium of Contemporary Issues James Reston papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library 1909 births 1995 deaths Editors of New York City newspapers Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award recipients American socialites Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting winners University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni Scottish emigrants to the United States People from Clydebank The New York Times