Starting in 1989, and continuing through the 1990s, high-energy physics
witnessed a flowering of precision measurements in general and tests of the
standard model in particular, led by e+e- collider experiments operating at the
Z0 resonance. Key contributions to this work came from the SLD collaboration at
the SLAC Linear Collider. By exploiting the unique capabilities of this
pioneering accelerator and the SLD detector, including a polarized electron
beam, exceptionally small beam dimensions, and a CCD pixel vertex detector, SLD
produced a broad array of electroweak, heavy-flavor, and QCD measurements. Many
of these results are one of a kind or represent the world's standard in
precision. This article reviews the highlights of the SLD physics program, with
an eye toward associated advances in experimental technique, and the
contribution of these measurements to our dramatically improved present
understanding of the standard model and its possible extensions.Comment: To appear in 2001 Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science; 78
pages, 31 figures; A version with higher resolution figures can be seen at
http://www.slac.stanford.edu/pubs/slacpubs/8000/slac-pub-8985.html; Second
version incorporates minor changes to the tex
