There are many authors of books on International Trade, International Finance and International Monetary Systems which can be of use in beginning to understand the subject.
David Hume wrote a short essay, Of the Balance of Trade, over two hundred years ago which describes how a monetary system based upon gold worked. Jones and Caves have a good textbook on the International Economy which explains many of the issues under current discussion. My copy is an old one but newer editions likely accommodate the advent of floating exchange rates.
I have read dozens of books about this subject over the decades I have been studying these issues. Any recommendations would have to be tempered by the degree of mathematical sophistication you have but H. Robert Heller has two excellent short books on International Monetary Economics and International Trade. But there are several other authors which have written about these issues. In no particular order you could see what you could find from Charles Kindelberger, Robert Mundell, Arnold Harberger, Harry G. Johnson, Fritz Machlup, Leland Yeager, James Meade, Lloyd Metzler, Gottfried Haberler and Jacob Viner are some of the universally recognized authorities in these matters. Penguin has a book of essays on International economic matters as does the AEA which collect the writings of many authors.
Those on the fringe or writers for newspapers are not capable of refuting the theories of the masters of economic theory and they are far from being equal. Milton Friedman's thinking is not the equivalent of John Q. Knownothing.
Those who advocate a third/fourth/fifth/tenth party as an alternative the GOP are Lovers of Losers and they damage conservativism under the delusion of helping.