  This thesis addresses some classical and semi-classical aspects of black
holes using an effective membrane representation of the event horizon. The
classical "membrane paradigm" equations are derived from an underlying action
formulation, even though the equations are dissipative. It is shown how the
membrane action can also account for the hole's entropy, including the
numerical factor. Two short derivations of Hawking radiation are then
presented, the first based on particles in a dynamical geometry and the second
on the membrane. The calculations obey conservation laws and lead to a
correction to the thermal spectrum. Finally, a possible Penrose diagram for the
formation and evaporation of a charged black hole is given, with the property
that the post-evaporation spacetime is predictable from initial conditions,
provided that the dynamics of the time-like singularity can be calculated.
