[2] In 1976, he went abroad as a foreign correspondent, first covering Africa out of Lagos, Nigeria, and then, when the military government there expelled him in 1977, out of Nairobi, Kenya.
He covered protests in South Africa, liberation movements in Rhodesia, guerrilla fighting in Ethiopia, Somalia, Zaire, and the fall of Idi Amin in Uganda.
[2] In addition to his work as a journalist, Darnton moonlighted as a fiction writer, ultimately publishing five novels "notable for their sinister themes and exotic settings, for overcooked plots that seemed custom-made for Hollywood".
[3] Since his initial success, Darnton has continued his fiction writing, in general sticking to thrillers with scientific and historical narratives: After retiring from the Times in 2005, Darnton began teaching journalism as a visiting professor at the State University of New York at New Paltz.
[2] In 2011, he forayed into nonfiction, publishing Almost a Family, a memoir about growing up without a father that also dealt heavily with alcoholism.