B meson decay and CP symmetry violation from e+e- experiments

The study of structure in the time evolution of neutral B - B-bar pairs has provided a a key ingredient in the quantitative understanding of quark flavor mixing and its role in accounting for CP violation in weak decays. After some recollections regarding the determination of the time scale of b quark decay, I review the observations that have emerged from experiments at electron-positron colliders of B - B-bar mixing and CP-violation asymmetries. I consider some of the ongoing measurements that serve to over constrain the Standard Model of weak interactions in the quark sector, and potentially to indicate the limits of the model. I conclude by describing the prospects for future gains in the sensitivity of these and successor experiments.