In digital recording, should you normalize each track? What is normalizing anyway?

In digital recording, should you normalize each track? What is normalizing anyway?
It has always been traditional in recording to record at as high a level as possible. If you don't, you are wasting dynamic range. But does normalizing your recordings achieve the same result?
Source: www.record-producer.com

Microphone polar patterns - how to choose the right pattern for the job
Selecting a polar pattern is a bit like choosing a wide angle or a telephoto lens for a camera, except that sound is not nearly so controllable as light. Make sure to choose the right pattern or you won't capture the right sound.
Source: www.record-producer.com

Do you drink coffee in the studio or, worse still, sticky soft drinks?
Spill your coffee in the studio and just how much trouble and expense do you think you will get into?
Source: www.record-producer.com

Beyond the Faulkner phased array - the 'Mellor Quad'
Beyond the Faulkner phased array, the Mellor Quad could prove to be the ultimate microphone technique for recording the orchestra...
Source: www.record-producer.com