A Java stack trace is an incredibly useful tool for debugging code, showing the call stack and providing information on the methods that were called when an exception occurred. It typically shows the Exception's type and message, followed by a list of method calls in reverse chronological order. To read a Java stack trace, start with the top line (the Exception's details) and scan down to find where the code went wrong. The most recently thrown Exception is on the first line, and the location where it was thrown is still on the second line. When dealing with libraries and frameworks, be aware that they can cause exceptions without explicit throw statements, such as `NullPointerException` or `ArithmeticException`. Catching and rethrowing Exceptions can help shield users from specific error types while adding context and making stack traces easier to read. A good strategy is to jump down the "Caused by" sections looking for your own code, then read that section in detail to isolate the problem. Understanding stack traces improves with practice, and learning how to extract useful information from them makes debugging much less painful.