What are some good recommended readings on the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71)? I am particularly interested in stuff that deals with military strategy, the logistics of the war and how the experience influenced later German generals and, eventually, German strategy in WWI.
Looks like you want Michael Howards The Franco Prussian War :) it's my favorite work on the military side of things.
Geoffrey Wawro's The Franco-Prussian War gives an excellent overview of both the Prussian and French conceptions of strategy and tactics prior to, during and after the war. You might want to read it in conjunction with his The Austro-Prussian War to get an idea of how strategy developed up to 1866.
Thanks to the both of you, I've started with Howards' work and it has definitely been a great read until now.
I would also be interested in something that deals with the political and diplomatic crises that arose between 1890 and the beginning of WWI? Christopher Clark has a great chapter in Sleepwalkers that deals with these events and their influence on the polarisation of the European alliance-system, but I was wondering if you had any ideas on works that are solely dedicated to the period as a whole.