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Subtle Bodies: Representing Angels in Byzantium (The Transformation of the Classical Heritage)

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Peers' does an excellent job in this endeavor of combining ecclesiastical texts with images. Much of the book poses the problem of how one represents an angel: a bodiless form. Since this was the foundation of the assault against images during Iconoclasm, Peers' framing of the problem within a specific context (the representation of angels) helps the reader see the implications of icon theory, both for and against. This is an excellent take on the problem of Byzantine image theory.

As both the Introduction:

'While this study deals primarily with textual evidence of attitudes towards angels and their images, it is the work of an art historian. It draws on intellectual history, which includes theology, miracle stories, poetry and sermons, and incorporates them into a history of representation. At the center of the study are the cultural conditions of seeing and understanding: an epistemology for which angels are simply the most trying and dangerous case. Transparent images of formless beings made for especially treacherous rapids, which the Byzantines attempted to stop up; this study looks at the shifting waters and dams that having images of angels necessitated.'

and the Conclusion:

'This study has been concerned with representation in the widest sense. Examinations of material images notwithstanding, it has primarily explored conceptual problems involved in representing angels that arise from the unquantifiable nature of the bodiless host.'

clearly state, this is an art historian's whack at theology. Or, to be more precise, an art historian's inquiry into a selection of sources pertaining to the Early Christian and Byzantine understanding of angelic nature, offices and appearances.
There are only 19 illustrations in total, and neither do all of them offer any depictions of angels, nor do they necessarily relate to the Byzantine period.
So, if you are looking for a study of actual depictions of angelic beings in Byzantine art, you will surely be disappointed by this work.

On the other hand, if you are looking for a comprehensive work on theological conceptions of angels, you would be much better advised to look at works written by
authors with more training in subjects like theology, Biblical studies, religious history etc.
(I recommend this work: http://www.amazon.com/Deuterocanonical-Cognate-Literature-Yearbook-2007/dp/3110192942/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1290423978&sr=8-1 as a particularly good place to start.)

So, you will be most likely to profit from reading this book if you are an art historian yourself, and are already quite familiar with the visual material, but are looking to deepen your knowledge of the most relevant textual sources. If that is your case, then this book will provide a solid initial insight into the matter, and I would definitely recommend that you read it.