David McCullough, the distinguished historian and West Tisbury resident, has earned another prestigious laurel, this time from France.

In a ceremony planned for Monday afternoon at the French Cultural Center in Boston, consul general Fabien Fieschi was to bestow the Legion of Honor upon Mr. McCullough in recognition of his defense of French-American friendship. Established in 1802 by the emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, the Légion d’Honneur is that country’s highest civil and military distinction. It is the oldest and highest honor in France.

Mr. McCullough’s books “led a renaissance of interest in American history and often highlighted the important role of France in it,” a news release said.

Mr. McCullough has won two Pulitzer Prizes and two National Book Awards for his work. In 2006 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.

His first book was The Johnstown Flood, published in 1968. His nine other books include 1776, Truman and John Adams. The latter biographies both won Pulitzers.

In an interview in the Gazette in 1992, just after Truman was published, Mr. McCullough said about his writing: “It’s like composing music. People ask me what is my favorite and I say my favorite is whatever I am working on. I love my work; my joy in life is what I do.”